


I can see your destiny

by YouCannotSeeWhatIsNotThere



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vegas, Crazy!Todd, Gen, What-If, becoming friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-12 09:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7928764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouCannotSeeWhatIsNotThere/pseuds/YouCannotSeeWhatIsNotThere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Todd decides that destiny needs a helping hand because some things just have to happen. John Sheppard is not entirely happy about surviving being shot dead. And then there's McKay who just wants to figure things out. - Vegas-verse, a bit of crazy Todd, the developing of friendship or hatred, we'll see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some people hate the Vegas episode, some love it. I very much like the idea of a slightly crazy Todd and all the possibilities an alternative universe offers. So here my little excursion into the Vegas universe...
> 
> This story doesn't have a beta yet, the beta system and I don't get along too well. Please bear with me or volunteer ;)

He knew when the lights would go out and he wastes no time leaving his prison cell. His body feels too heavy for he is weaker than ever and lacks all his strength and grace, but what is left of his sanity and pride tells him that he will not die a prisoner. Even if he can only make one step away from that glass cube he's been stuck in it is victory for him.

And he knows his fellow Wraith, who's responsible for the black out, can't help him here. Not because of the distance, walls and armed humans between them but because the other Wraith will die as well. The detective is on the way. And has arrived just now.

He has seen many worlds. All of them different yet in some ways the same. And he'd always seen much more than he should, for this reality's borders are the most transparent of them all. Yet right now his fellow Wraith whom the humans had been chasing opens up a rift, a slash through this universe's walls that allows him to see more than ever before.

And he laughs, the dark, weak laugh of someone who can't believe he's the only one totally screwed over. So many versions of him, so many fates and all better than what he is stuck with. And it's all tied to that man, to Sheppard. The damn human doesn't even know, but he is responsible for this Wraith's misery. All other Sheppards are men who refuse to give up, who fight on or believe in friends to come and rescue them. All other Sheppards come and pull this Wraith out of whatever dark hole he's stuck in, give him hope, sometimes even friendship. Different as the circumstances may be, this is the essence of it all, something reoccurring in all universes. This Wraith is down and Sheppard comes and helps him back to his feet.

But his Sheppard here is a loner who trusts no one but himself and has no hope what so ever. He will not come and get this Wraith out of his misery. No, Sheppard will die in the desert and this one will die right here on the floor in front of his prison, a slow and painful end for the both of them.

He sighs to himself. He'd prefer all other deadly fates of his that he's seen over this one.

Thoughts begin to swim again, they turn to fog with the familiar pain of hunger and isolation. It will not pass, it will only get worse. Though the Wraith doesn't even bother with trying to palliate it through meditation, it would just be dragging it out. Sheppard is dying in the desert and with him dies all hope. Without Sheppard this Wraith will find his end here in this facility called Area 51. He comes to the conclusion that sooner is better than later.

So he lies down.

With his barriers down all things around him come crashing down on his mind and he winces. He can sense all the humans around, the mix of their emotions. It's not soothing, not at all like the mind of a Hive but he bears that mortal coil. Only a few more minutes and all will be silent.

McKay's thoughts are on the surface of it all and he shakes his head as he tries to disperse the focus his subconsciousness had put on that man. But it's too late. He now knows that the humans are heading out to the blast side and McKay hopes they can still safe Sheppard, even though logic tells the human that it's too late.

But is it? His mind spreads out, sweeps the land with a last bout of energy. And there he is, a faint and weak beacon. Sheppard in the desert, barely hanging on to life.

He sighs once more. The humans might reach the man while he was still alive but they still couldn't help him fast enough. Humans don't heal like Wraith do.

And suddenly this Wraith sits up, back ramrod straight as he thinks. What... what if this time he has to help Sheppard first so Sheppard can help him and change things? What if even in this universe there is a chance that things will follow the pattern?

He needs to get out of here. He can heal Sheppard. But how can he get out of here? There is no use in telling the humans, they won't listen to him, they never do. And even if they did, there is still the small fact that he has to feed first if he is to be of any use. They won't let him do that, even if it is to safe Sheppard. So how to get out?

His body strains as he rises to his feet again, running only on last reserves and adrenaline, leaving him even more mortal than the humans are. He does not care. A purpose leaves his mind clearer than it has been in a while and his thoughts are quick. Feed. He needs to feed. For Sheppard, for himself.

Cullings and cocoons have made the younger Wraith lazy but he is older than some Hives are and a supreme hunter. Even though he hasn't done this in a while it feels natural as ever. Instincts are more precise than ever when on the edge of starvation and so it doesn't take him long to locate the first human. He assesses the risks. Then snares the human with all the power of his mind when the man is as close to the room with the glass cube as he will ever be. His quarry is dazed and confused and offers no resistance when pulled into the room. The Wraith laughs to himself. The humans have started to underestimate him greatly and now it comes back to bite them. Quite literally.

He stifles all sound as finally, finally he feeds. It's like being reborn and when he rises to his feet above the human's corpse he finally feels all Wraith again. One deep intake of breath that he slowly releases as he feels the energy course through his body. Then he wastes no more time.

The humans of Earth are easy prey to the powers of his mind, they have no resistance for something they don't know and are scared into motionlessness or a useless frenzy when they encounter the ghosts he projects. He runs and feeds, faster than they can lock down the complex. He knows the outlay, it's second nature to him to have an awareness of his surroundings. What he doesn't know he takes from human minds until he reaches the place where they store the ships they salvaged.

He picks one of the darts and inspects it as bullets begin to rain around him. Some hit but he has fed enough to not care. Pulling human computers from the craft he makes it ready again as good as he can. It's not perfect but it will do, it will be enough to reach Sheppard in time.

Quickly, he climbs into the pilot seat and ignores a bullet lodging in his collar bone as he reaches for the detective's mind. It is very faint but it is still there and so he loads the dart's weapons and fires at the hangar doors. The familiar whine of the engine is the best sound he ever heard.

High above the desert ground they shoot at him again, but this time he can't simply ignore it. The missiles of the human fighting crafts would bring his dart down and kill him. He is a skillful pilot but he knows there is a lot of luck involved this time for his craft is crippled but he has yet to be hit critically.

As the dart begins to trail smoke he spots the blast site where Sheppard and his fellow Wraith fought. Pointing the craft down he aims at the improvised barrier surrounding the perimeter and as he lands hard the dart breaks right through it, sliding into the middle of the black crater the humans bustle around.

The human air crafts do not fire on him anymore but he is faced with armed forces anyway as he climbs from the dart. The guards point familiar rifles at him but as he just stands on the wing of his dart they do not fire. They are probably confused, because he could have gone anywhere, could have gone to play hide and seek and build a communication device like the Wraith on whose remains he just landed, yet he took his dart here. Sometimes humans are slow, but this time they do understand he is here for a purpose. Rifle muzzles follow him as he jumps off the dart and walks, back straight and steps measured, towards the medic team crowded around the limp body on the stretcher. Only one person remains in his way, swallowing and sweating but keeping their ground.

"Doctor McKay," he says, cocking his head to the side as he assesses the man.

McKay opens his mouth, then closes it again as he remembers he does not know how to call this Wraith. "What do you want here?!" the man finally asks.

The Wraith has to give him credit, he's hiding his insecurity well for someone so easy to read. "Why do you think I am here?" he asks, smiling. He knows it doesn't reassure the humans in the slightest.

"The technology of your Wraith friend? Well, as you can see we blew it all up so you can now kneel down and put your hands behind your head!" McKay snaps, pointing his finger at the ground like this Wraith is a pet that lies down on command.

He laughs, something that frightens the humans even more than his smile. It makes him want to laugh and mock some more but he must not waste any more time. Sheppard's life has almost run out. "Why would I come to collect the scraps of something I could easily build myself by stealing material from that facility of yours I just broke out of?" while McKay splutters at both the display of logic from this Wraith he thought was over the edge and the reminder that this Wraith is more or less free, the Wraith lifts his hand to point one finger at the bloody form on the stretcher. "No," he says. "I came for _him_."

"Sheppard?!" McKay is more flabbergasted than ever. "What would you want with him?!"

"He is the key..." is the calm answer as the Wraith stares past the scientist at the dying detective. "Always the key, in every story. A fixed star on every night sky."

McKay furrows his brow at him. "Okay you're still crazy after all!" He then declares. "So the guy played the hero here, but what could he be to a Wraith he's only ever met once before for five minutes?!"

"You'll see soon enough," says the Wraith and silently hopes he's really right as he simply starts walking. He keeps his eyes on Sheppard, never looking at McKay as he walks past the man, always expecting that he'll need to dodge bullets. But the rifles keep silent, every thing and living being here is silent, there is only the rustle of the medics who retreat to a safe distance, leaving Sheppard to him. They seem to have given up on the detective, they can't save the man and why would a full Wraith feed on someone who just takes his last breath?

The Wraith looks at the still face then turns to the chest that has just fallen still as well. "You should have let me tell you your future..." he says. Then he slams his feeding hand down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This universe's Todd has not yet been named as such. He will be eventually.

John wakes and feels more alive than ever. Which is weird considering that he's just been shot dead by an alien... On second thought, maybe that was all a dream after all.

On third thought, that alien is standing above his prone body, grinning and showing sharp teeth. John jumps, falling off a stretcher in the process. He wonders why there is a stretcher here, why there are people, why there is a strange, crash-landed spaceship and why needles rip from his arm as he struggles back to his feet. Only when he is standing again and feeling like he can somewhat defend himself does his brain take the time to put all the pieces together.

This is not the Wraith who shot him but the Wraith from Area 51, just as the people are from Area 51. But those facts don't lessen his confusion in the slightest. Mainly because the people seem as confused and shocked as he is, in fact the Wraith seems to be the only pers- the only one around who seems to be perfectly comfortable and knows what just happened.

"But I just died!" John protests against reality, sounding dumb even to himself.

"But he just died!?" McKay parrots him, apparently feeling a few IQ points shorter as well for the moment.

John stares at him, then they both turn towards the Wraith as one, demanding an explanation with their incredulous faces because they can't seem to get any more words out of their mouth. To John's, and apparently McKay's as well, annoyance the Wraith only grins.

"There is much about Wraith that you do not know, Sheppard," is the only thing the creature says, nodding to itself like it just fulfilled a task and is satisfied with the outcome.

For a moment longer everyone just stands and stares, then McKay starts snapping orders. "Detective Sheppard, get back on that stretcher, we will have you checked by the doctor!"

"I'm fine!" Sheppard protests, thought he doesn't sound as convincing as he wants to, mainly because he was just patting himself down to check if the bullet holes are really gone.

"Which is exactly why we'll have you checked!" McKay answers like that is an obvious reason. It probably is, John doesn't know what exactly just happened and if whatever the alien did to him comes at a cost.

"The rest of you, contain the Wraith!" the Canadian then yells at the soldiers milling about, waving his arms around to underline his order.

John grouchily sits back on the stretcher. He ignores the medics fussing about him and instead watches the somewhat scared marines approach the Wraith. Only now does he notice that the gray jump suit it wears has quite a lot of bullet holes and patches of what must be blood darker than a human's, yet the Wraith stands tall, not bothered by any possibly wounds. The marines' fear suddenly seems a lot more reasonable. John remembers shooting at the other Wraith, it too didn't seem bothered by the bullets. He resolves that he will get McKay to tell him a little more about the Wraith than the snippets he was given back then, even if McKay and his SGC people don't seem to know everything either from the looks of it.

For now he watches as the marines handcuff the Wraith who doesn't look impressed in the lightest. But it simply follows any instruction given, though more out of its own agenda than anything else, it seems. There is a shred of cunning in those strange, yellow eyes and John has a feeling that this alien's intelligence is much more dangerous than all its physical traits. There is a bigger picture here and John hates not getting it. Not to mention he has this strange feeling that he will be involved in whatever the Wraith is up to.

As if feeling his gaze the Wraith turns to look at him. John swallows but keeps the eye contact up. He can't read the other but he decides he will give the Wraith the benefit of the doubt. After all, it did safe his life.

* * *

Once back in Area 51, or much more precisely the underground SGC complex, John quickly decides against the benefit of the doubt. There are five corpses, sucked dry of any life in every sense of the word. He feels nauseated, reasoning that this is where the Wraith stole the power to resurrect him. One of this men is dead so his life could be given to John. He turns to the Wraith that has been strapped to a table, the female, blonde doctor John has met before poking at a gross and slightly bloody slit in its hand. The Wraith doesn't seem too happy about that but can't pull away much with tight metal fastenings holding its hand down and open.

"I want you to give it back!" John snarls.

The alien just looks at him. For a moment John thinks it doesn't understand what he is talking about at all, but then he realizes that's not completely the case. Annoyed, he clarifies his demand anyway.

"I want you to give the life you gave me back to whatever poor guy you stole it from and, while you're at it, best revive the rest of them as well!" he yells.

"Detective please calm down, we still don't know if you are truly all right..." the doctor tries to calm him.

"He is" the Wraith says matter-of-factly.

They stare at it and John's anger bubbles up once more. "Yes, because you did something utterly wrong! Who are you to decide who should live and who should die?! You probably cost some family a loving father and husband just to revive _me_ who no one would have missed at all!" He stands there, panting from his outburst, and stares down the greenish bastard tied to the table, vaguely aware of the blonde doctor's uncomfortable shuffling.

"I am me. And I would have missed you, Sheppard."

His thoughts seem to do a back flip and looping at once. Or maybe it's a corkscrew motion. Anyway, John needs a moment to calm his mind, sent reeling from the aliens words. Only then does he understand that what the Wraith said hasn't been meant in any amicable or romantic way. The thing had told him it knew his future, so what it would have missed is not _him_ right now but whatever could be if John stays around. In an absolute harebrained way that makes a surprising amount of sense. He snorts derisively.

"Well I don't care! Give those people back their lives!" he slams one hand down on the table and points the other at the bodies.

The Wraith sighs, suddenly seeming a lot more weary than just a second ago. "I cannot do that. They have been dead for too long, what would be brought back now are soulless, mindless hunks of flesh."

John's anger deflates as rapidly as it had come up. With his arms crossed in front of his chest he paces the room, peering at the bodies from time to time as he tries to deal with it. At last, he looks at the doctor, whose name he finally remembers is Keller. "Can I go now?"

She looks uncertain. "I would rather keep you under supervision... I'm sorry but you will have to stay," she then decides.

"Great, can I at least get away from it?" he points at the Wraith.

"I am male by all definitions," it clarifies. It doesn't seem angry though, more like resigned to the stupidity of mankind.

"Fine, can I get away from _him_ then?!" John snaps. He dimly remembers that McKay had also called it a he. He dismisses the thought, he's not willing to think much more today. Tomorrow maybe, but now he needs a break.

"Yes, just a moment and someone will come to bring you to our regular infirmary," Doctor Keller nods.

So John keeps pacing the room while marines stand by and Doctor Keller keeps poking the hand of the Wraith, who hisses at her but answers none of her questions. Finally, McKay shows up.

For the first few corridors the man is mercyfully silent, then he starts talking and John has to suppress the urge to just run away.

"You don't happen to have a clue why the Wraith broke out just to revive you and then didn't so much as resist when we caught him again?" McKay asks, sounding like he was hoping for an easy explanation for all this headache inducing mess.

"No." John indulges him from between clenched teeth. "Only met him once before and you where there so you know what I know."

"Which is nothing," McKay sighs.

Another corridor full of blessed silence, then ,oddly enough, John feels the need to break it. "Did he ever before say something about the future?"

McKay looks at him out of his peripheral vision, skeptical and with raised eyebrows. "He's said the oddest things once he was too starved to resist our... interrogation. Only useful thing we ever got from it is that he seems to be an especially talented individual when it comes to their mental abilities. They all reach a point where they try to get under your skin but he... he always knew much more than the other Wraith. And when he broke, he broke differently. While all other Wraith starved to death quietly he started to sprout nonsense. It's why we kept him instead of just shooting him, we hoped some day he might spill something good after all."

"Well, cost you five men," John says darkly.

McKay's mouth turns into a thin line but his step doesn't falter. "I have a feeling that in some twisted way it will be worth it."

John only scowls. McKay doesn't say anything else and so they reach the infirmary in silence after all. The Canadian says his good byes with a curt nod only and John rolls his eyes as a nurse assigns him a bed. He is given a meal and suddenly realizes just how hungry he feels. His stomach growls and he has to stop himself from ravenously inhaling his food, eating in a civilized manner has never been so hard. When he's done they draw blood from him, do some other simple tests and finally hook him up to a heart monitor and other stuff to keep an eye on him. He patiently endures it because the nurse is nice and rather pretty and it distracts him from all further thoughts about the mummified corpses in the morgue.

At last he is allowed to rest and the moment his head hits the pillow he sleeps like a rock. Whatever will happen tomorrow, he'll probably need all the energy he could get.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to the lovely dragonflower1 who is so kind as to beta edit this story. All hail the dragonflower1! :D

McKay comes to collect John in the morning. John follows him without much of an argument or sarcastic comments, simply because he doesn't know what else to do. Walking through the hallways he muses that he should not be here, should not be alive to do this. It's the wraith who decided to give him back his purposeless life and John just doesn't really know what to do with it. So, as he did many times before, he just drifts along. And in this case his drifting consists of docilely walking after McKay.

Their destination is a cafeteria, and that is a good thing because John hasn't had breakfast yet. It wouldn't usually bother him so much, but there is still an echo of this strange hunger in his bones and he feels like eating a whole cow. Luckily McKay doesn't seem to mind, the man tucks into his breakfast with a just as amazing appetite.

"I was wondering," John says between two bites when the worst of his hunger is satisfied, "can I speak to that wraith again?"

"Why'd you want to do that?" McKay asks before taking another sip of his coffee.

"Well, I sure as hell don't know why he'd bring me back, but the bastard has gotta have a reason. I just want to know what that reason would be." Maybe having a reason, a purpose, even one given to him by a human-eating alien who's probably The Enemy, would make life a little easier for him.

McKay hums thoughtfully. "Even if it was more than a crazy slip, I don't think he'll tell you his reasons. Incoherent or not, that wraith is secretive and _likes_ being so." He skewers a piece of scrambled egg with more force than necessary.

"You're still pissed 'cause you couldn't get anything useful from him," John grins. He doesn't like McKay much and seeing him bristle is fun. Then he frowns. "Where'd you catch him anyway? That other galaxy of yours?"

John watches McKay ponder for a while before the man finally decides to tell the story. "There are humans in the Pegasus Galaxy. We tried to ally with some of them and the first to respond were a folks calling themselves the Genii. Very military-loving these people... Their commander was one Acastus Kolya. He offered us guidance in the ways of the Pegasus Galaxy if we would share our weapons with them. When we asked what they needed the weapons for he told us about the wraith and gave us a couple of them that he held captured as a present so we might use them for research." McKay's face turns grimmer than John has ever seen it before. "Turns out he wanted the weapons to take over Atlantis and with it the whole Galaxy. The wraith he gave us weren't of much use either. We had three males. Two of them died within a week because Kolya apparently had them for ages and only gave them up to us because they were too weak to live much longer. The third one was almost dead too, but he managed to free himself while we were busy fighting off the Genii trying to conquer us with our own weapons. We actually only won because he hunted Kolya down." The admission is bitter but also tinged with something Sheppard knows the Germans call _Schadenfreude_.

"I imagine the wraith is still alive because he sucked that Kolya guy dry of life?" He raises an eyebrow. McKay must really hate the guy if he is happy about that.

"He fed on Kolya, yes. After he skinned him alive," the Canadian says calmly and Sheppard almost chokes on his toast. No, scratch that. He chokes so hard he is sure he turns a little blue in the face.

"What?!" he splutters when he can breath again. McKay still looks calm and utterly unperturbed.

"He skinned him alive." the physicist repeats. "Apparently he didn't think just killing Kolya would be payback enough for decades of imprisonment and what not. We don't know how Kolya got a hold of him, for all we know the Genii might have tested one of their new bombs on his Hive-ship. Wraith don't take too well to that, especially when it kills their Queen."

John still can't do much more than stare. McKay is an ass, no doubt about that, but the man's coldness right now is almost inhumane. John doesn't want to work with someone like this. This whole organization here, with all their secrets and power and ruthless people like McKay doesn't seem quite kosher to him. Maybe he should just leave here after all, forget the wraith, forget McKay, forget all about a destiny and future and purpose.

He wonders if McKay will once more threaten him with ruining his life if he tries to walk away now. And then he wonders once more how his life could be ruined any more. So, about to say fuck it, he makes to stand.

"You must know, Kolya shot my wife."

John reluctantly sits back in his chair, looking at McKay who plays with the ring on his left hand. "Hit her right in the head and spilled her brilliant brain all over the wall. Forgive me if I don't really mind his fate."

Sheppard doesn't know what to say, he's never been one to talk feelings much, but he can understand McKay a little better now. He watches as the man closes off again, face once more turning to the blank, arrogant scientist look.

"Anyway," the Canadian says like they never swayed off the topic, "You want to see that wraith, I think that's a good idea. I too was going to try and see if maybe now he is willing to talk. So after we finish here, we can go there right away, that way I don't have to cancel my later appointments. Contrary to what Zelenka believes, I do have work to do, even when I'm down here and not on Atlantis where I should be!"

John tunes him out then and eats what's left on his plate.

* * *

They enter the room with the glass cube and it feels a lot differently than the first time John walked in. All is somehow... _clearer._

He wonders if that is because the alien that is able to get into their heads looks a lot more focused now than the last time. The dizzying spell the wraith seems to have put on John on their first meeting is missing. If it- _he_ is in John's head now, John can't tell.

"If you're ghosting around in my mind, get out of there, it's rude!" he tells the creature, but his voice lacks any real bite. If the wraith is in his head then he probably won't retreat just because John tells him so, and since McKay hasn't instructed John about how to just kick the wraith out, there is most likely no way to do so. He still insists on stating his point.

The wraith looks up from where he is sitting on the spartan bed in the glass cube. Unlike the last time, his body is not bent into a wary crouch. Instead he projects an image that reminds John of the Joker in The Dark Knight, sitting in his jail cell completely unperturbed by the chaos around him, processing everything going on with a quick mind that no one could figure out while seeming utterly bored with it all, until he deems it his turn to clap mocking applause at the humans around him. John just hopes that this creature is a lot more sane than Badman's nemesis.

He keeps glaring at the wraith, who cocks his head to the side a little, contemplating. Slit pupils widen and contract in their yellow surroundings as the creature assesses John, and the ex-detective narrows his eyes in turn. He can see the benefits of knowing what is going on in the others' head. Right now he wouldn't mind knowing what the wraith is thinking. But he is not telepathic and so he needs to even the field by getting the wraith to stop. And, to his surprise, the creature seemingly does.

Or that's what John believes as it suddenly feels like his brain has cooled down a couple degrees. He blinks, quite baffled by the fact that he has convinced this alien to accept his privacy. The wraith on his part seems amused by John's probably hilarious facial expression. John gives him a grouchy "Well thank you!"

"So all it takes to get you out of our head is to ask you to shut it down?!" As soon as McKay starts the sentence the wraith's expression turns sour. Suddenly the creature's posture seems a lot more tense, the confident ease in the turn of its head is forced when he faces McKay. But it's not discomfort that causes this change, no, it's cold wrath slumbering underneath a thinned-out layer of patience. John would know, he's faced this sort of barely contained wrath himself when they didn't allow him to go back for his comrade back in cursed Afghanistan. The difference between him and the wraith is that he acted on it, all restraints blown to pieces by worry for a good friend.

"I will not extend the favor to _you_ ," the wraith finally hisses and McKay huffs in annoyance. "You have no right to demand I leave you alone when you tried to get intelligence from me in much more harmful ways than a simple connection of minds."

"You're one to talk, like your people go any nicer about interrogations than mine!" McKay growls.

The wraith bristles but doesn't say anything else. McKay seems to think the alien conceded the point but John can see green nostrils flare with the tiny snort of someone who just doesn't think the discussion is worth the energy it takes to speak.

"Anyway," he interrupts their argument, "I came here to ask some questions. So if you," he points at McKay, "could shut up for a moment so he," and John points at the wraith, "can tell me what I'd like to know, that would be just awesome."

Both beings turn to glower at him, and where a glowering wraith actually looks quite impressive, McKay just manages to look quite funny. John represses his grin, then continues. "And could we sit down somewhere, I have a feeling that this will take some time?!"

And that is how they end up in a room not unlike the one John knows from the police station. He immediately feels a lot more comfortable. The wraith is chained to the table like he's just another criminal to be questioned and McKay sulks around in the corner like a colleague about to play the "bad cop". John is a little suspicious about how readily they've cooperated with him so far. He has a feeling that McKay and his people are only that responsive because they hope for results. The ex-detective is not ashamed to make the most of their compliance.

Sitting down opposite of the alien, John kicks his feet up and leans back in his chair. "So, what's your name?" he asks.

"That is usually for you to decide," the wraith answers calmly.

"That so?" John makes a mental note to go back to this later and ask what the "usually" in the sentence was supposed to mean. For now he decides to go on with introductions. Or rather naming. He looks the creepy creature up and down. "I think you're a James," he then decides.

The wraith actually pulls a face. "You truly are the exception of the rule." He sounds exasperated but oddly amused as well.

"How am I supposed to know what the rule is?" John asks him. He crosses his arms in front of his chest, trying to hide that he is a little miffed about the rejection of "James".

"All other Sheppards know me as Todd." It is the most weird introduction John has ever heard.

"Todd," he tastes the name on his tongue. "Toooaaa-" he pauses. "Ah, I see what I did there. Or rather the... other Sheppards?" McKay told him that he had once met another version of John and so John assumes that this is what the wraith is referring to.

"You are familiar with the concept of many different realities existing at once?" _Todd_ sounds mildly impressed.

"He mentioned something like that." John points a thumb at the scientist in the corner.

"Ah, yes, he has once met one of my favorite Sheppards, it seems. But he hasn't met another me, if that was the case I would have a far easier life." The wraith sighs, deliberately a little more theatrically than necessary.

"If I knew you any better I'd probably shoot you in the head!" Is what McKay has to say to this.

Todd just chuckles darkly. "One time you did. It was one of my better endings, I very much prefer it over what I was about to face here." With every word something about the wraith turned darker. John feels a little uncomfortable after all.

"What would you have faced here and what makes you think you won't have to face it again?" McKay's snippy words penetrate the odd silence about to settle in the room.

"Death from starvation is the ugliest end for a wraith there is," Todd explains reluctantly.

"Again, what makes you think you won't have to face it again?" McKay repeats. "You think that just because you saved Sheppard we are going to _feed you our people_?!"

"He has a point there..." John agrees. "Nothing you could possibly offer will be worth a human dying in what may as well be the ugliest end for _us_." He shudders at the thought of the mummified corpses.

The wraith looks at them with a strange, tired smile that speaks of him knowing so much better and John feels suddenly cold. But whatever point the wraith has, whatever another version of them in another reality has done, Todd keeps his silence about it. "That is why I won't ask you to feed me." is what he offers instead.

"Then what _do_ you ask for?" John's tongue feels a little numb as the words leave it.

Todd's back straightens just a little bit as he prepares the metaphorical boat they will be sitting in, all together, soon enough. "For you to find a solution." he finally says.

And just like that, John Sheppard knows he is a part of this bad science-fiction, whether he wants to or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! Bits of backgroundstory!
> 
> The Vegas McKay does wear a ring (you can see it very well when he answers John's phone call about the wraith's trailer) that looks very much like a wedding band to me. I just couldn't resist using that for his background.
> 
> As for Todd skinning Kolya: Only feeding on the guy that kept you captive and starved you for decades? Nope, I think Todd likes pay back. He did after all provide Atlantis with ZPMs to destroy the super hive just to spite the underling who betrayed him.
> 
> And Vegas John is just a little lost, I feel.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better slow than never, here's chapter 4 ^^

He stares at his faint reflection in the glass walls of his prison. Now that he has chosen the imprisonment it does not bother him much anymore. There is, of course, a lingering discomfort connected to being in an enclosed room with no chance of escape, which has developed with the years and will probably never truly fade away, but he is confident he can handle it. Millennia of living on Hive Ships have taught him to feel at home in narrow corridors and compact quarters and even though, unlike wraith ships, all the human constructs are dead to the touch, he can draw reassurance from the small similarity. Plus, after all, there _is_ a chance for escape _now_. He has made it for himself, and if he plays his cards right then one day all things will be much better. So Todd sits and waits for the humans to decide on all further procedures in perfectly relaxed silence.

The human name still amuses him. Wraith call each other by who they are, it is a telepathic burst of information that no human could receive, much less completely understand. The pinkish creatures wouldn't know the significance of each puzzle piece that makes a wraith, or how to put them together for a proper introduction. No, humans like their names and are happy with that one word that says nothing about them. Of course, because of long distance communication and similar necessities, there are ways to call a wraith by only one word, but that one word is usually simply said wraith's rank. Todd currently possesses no rank to speak of and therefore he does not mind his new designation, he can see the use in it. What amuses him is that the humans think accepting it makes him more like them.

The heavy door to the room that holds him and his glass cube opens and in walk soldiers. They guide him to the room they brought him to a few days ago on Sheppard's behalf, and once they have made sure that he is correctly cuffed to the metal table Sheppard, McKay and one who Todd has only seen once, but knows is called General O'Neill, walk in. Todd guesses the high-ranked man is here to sanction whatever decision the humans have come to.

"Sooo," O'Neill says, dragging out the 'o' while he looks Todd up and down, assessing him. The wraith has no qualms about doing the same. He has faced off against higher-ranked ones before, both wraith and human, and if he hadn't come out as the winner then he would not be here.

"We've pondered your suggestions and made up an acceptable version of the deal," O'Neill finally says.

"Acceptable for _you_ ," Todd lets him know that he understands the game.

Genral O'Neill raises an eyebrow but shrugs and answers: "Well, we're the ones holding your leash at the moment."

As much as Todd can fight, he can also bow when it is necessary. He will not bow to O'Neill but neither will he utter useless threats that only serve to antagonize his game piece. So he ignores the comment about his current place in the food chain and motions with one hand for O'Neill to continue. "What are your terms?"

O'Neill grins. "I like this one, he's more sensible than the others I met," he happily comments at McKay.

"I still don't think this is a good idea..." the scientist grumbles.

Todd ignores him in favor of finally looking at Sheppard. The man has kept quiet so far, staring at Todd without really seeing him. He seems deep in thought. The wraith cocks his head to the side, contemplating. He could just take what he wants to know from the other's mind, but he would like to have the human's trust in their future dealings, and even though Sheppard wouldn't know he was right there in the man's brain, he doesn't want to slip up and answer a question which the other had only thought about so far but never mentioned aloud. So he decides to let Sheppard be.

But even without any mind contact, Todd can smell the indecision coming off the human in waves, the cocktail of excitement about something new, and fear, because whatever was to come might not be good. It seems like the man has not yet come to terms with his new fate. Todd doesn't feel sorry for burdening Sheppard with the knowledge that his life was traded for that of someone else.

"Hey, are you even listening!" Both Todd and Sheppard turn to an angry McKay, the latter a lot more obviously startled than the former. McKay huffs, then, happy he has their attention now, starts over again.

Okay, I'm going to explain this _one last time_ ," the physicist says. "We take you back to Pegasus and make a conscious effort to solve the wraith feeding problem rather than keep developing a super weapon to try and just blow you all out of existence. We will listen to your suggestions and let you help if we think it is safe for us to follow your advice." He waits for Todd to nod his head as a sign of understanding. Todd does him the favor, if only because anything else would just prolong his time here in this facility

"In turn, you will help us save the city of Atlantis and bring it to full function, as well as assist us with any other problems we might encounter. You will be the test subject for whatever final solution we will come up with and spread said solution among the wraith. To achieve that final goal you will be granted your freedom. If we fail to develop a solution before you need to feed to survive any longer, you will be shot."

Todd allows himself to look surprised at that last sentence.

"You did say you'd like that better than starving. Figured if we treat you somewhat nicely, maybe you'll return the favor." Sheppard shrugs lazily.

"I do remember favors," Todd admits. It's funny, even though this Sheppard is the exception in many ways, there are still things that are glaringly similar. They will never escape from a Genii-cell together but this unspoken little deal is close enough for now. Still, there are better things to do than dwelling on such thoughts. Todd straightens his back and turns to all the humans in the room.

"In short, I save your city and my fellow wraith, or die trying." he summarizes, and grins. "In that case, I'd rather stop wasting time. We have a deal."

O'Neill nods. "Good. Then we'll start preparing things. McKay?"

The both of them leave. Sheppard remains. Todd leans back in his chair and looks at the man. He can't figure out why Sheppard is still there. However, he is not the only one who is coming up short. The human narrows his eyes, like he's trying to figure Todd out and this wraith raises his brows. He knows humans do that when portraying mocking skepticism. It's always amazing how far adapting their extensive body language can get him, they tell him what he wants to know much faster than when he behaves himself like proper wraith do. The human subconsciousness apparently likes to assume that familiar things are more harmless than the unknown. Sometimes it's annoying to express less in mind and more in body, but he's had much time to study and get used to it. Not to mention it is usually worth it. Sheppard, too, is about to fall for it.

Fidgeting ever so slightly, the human finally blurts out: "What is it?!"

"What is it?" he repeats, and lets it bleed through that he doesn't understand what Sheppard is talking about.

"What about me made you decide to cooperate with the SGC people?! You could've bargained with them before, or you could've run away the other day, but instead you come rescue me and suddenly propose to work with McKay and the others if I come along?!" Sometime along the burst of questions Sheppard had started to gesticulate wildly.

Todd regards him. The man he has put his hopes in seems a lot more frayed than he would ever like an ally to be, but it is not the first time he takes whatever he can get and makes the best of it. Maybe Sheppard, too, only needs a glimpse of what could be, a reason to get back on his feet. This wraith decides to try his luck. He lifts his left hand, always his left hand because humans are so easily scared, as far as he can with the short chain connecting his wrist to the table.

"I told you, you need to come inside to see your destiny..." He grins. "But, there is no more glass in the way now."

Sheppard looks skeptical, but then guesses what he's supposed to do and reluctantly bends over the table to lay his forehead against the wraith's fingertips, the both of them ever-mindful of Todd's sharp nails.

It is easy to take information from the human mind or to confuse them with superficially-transmitted impressions, but to get something more profound into their heads, physical contact is quite useful. He still doesn't show Sheppard all that he knows, that would be far too much for the human brain to process at once and it would make Todd redundant. But a small peek of flying puddle jumpers and saving people, of the beautiful skies and planets that his home galaxy has to offer and, most of all, he offers pictures of Atlantis.

He chuckles at Sheppard's wide eyes when he pulls back. The human looks sufficiently impressed, and blinks a few times as if to reassure himself he is still on Earth and not at the places he just saw. Todd gives him a moment, then puts his fingertips back to Sheppard's forehead. What he offers to the human now is strictly from their own reality. Here, the corridors of Atlantis are only dimly lit by emergency light and the puddle jumpers collect dust in their hangar. Genii and Wraith alike keep trying to find the city and leave great damage in their wake. There is no saving people, the earthlings have enough problems keeping their own skin whole.

"You make the difference between one and the other," this wraith tells the human when he leans back for good and drops his hand back on the table.

"I do?!" Sheppard splutters.

"As far as I know." Todd shrugs, another gesture he has picked up from his captors.

The human swallows, then nods in that frantic way this wraith has learned to associate with people trying to understand something incredible while simultaneously blocking out panic.

"Okay..." Sheppard says, although the human's careless attitude can't fool Todd's keen sense of smell, there is a little panic still, "I think I need some time to process that..."

He staggers from the room and Todd is smiles to himself. All is going well.

* * *

They are standing on the platform in front of the gate. The humans look at him like mice eye a cat, but Todd is too distracted to act deliberately threatening and laugh at their flinching. He keeps watching the gate in anticipation, waiting for the event horizon to come into its blue existence.

"You really hate this place, huh?" Sheppard asks, standing next to him. The human has a pack on his back and wears the uniform issued to him. He looks a little nervous to Todd, but since no human bothers to reassure him, Todd guesses they don't realize their new crew member isn't as self-assured as they think. Oddly enough, despite his nervousness in the face of the future, Sheppard is the only one here who's got no problem standing next to a wraith.

"You didn't take your eyes off the stargate ever since we entered the room," the man continues when this wraith doesn't answer immediately.

"I've made worse memories in worse places, but I would indeed like to return to my home galaxy. This one is so silent…" Todd admits after another moment.

"Silent?" Sheppard asks and pointedly looks at all the people around them, who talk loudly and yell orders as they get ready for dialing Atlantis.

"For a single wraith it is." Todd ends the conversation by stepping forward to the spot where an armed soldier is pointing him to. He is now surrounded by four of them and McKay comes up to take the lead of the group. The scientist turns back to Todd, lips a thin, unhappy line, and waves Sheppard to his side. Now that the formation is ready, the gate begins dialing.

Todd closes his eyes, the sound of chevrons locking in is like music to his ears. He did not lie to Sheppard, this galaxy is quiet and dark to a single wraith, no web of minds whispering at the edges of his consciousness, no reassurance that he is not the only one. But that will change now. Everything will change. He has found this reality's Sheppard.

Grinning, the wraith walks into the blue.


	5. Chapter 5

John walks up to the strange, bubbling blue of the stargate, not really knowing what to expect. Pain maybe. McKay doesn't so much as flinch or hesitate, but this city seems so terribly important to all of them, John thinks it might just be the strength of a curious scientist's mind. He glances back at the alien, but the wraith is grinning and not of much help either. John is very sure that this one would walk through a wall of fire if it was his only way home.

So he takes a deep breath and just walks on. In for a penny, in for a pound, if the others can do this then so can he.

The world greeting him on the other side is dark and only semi-alive. Admittedly, he is standing within a hall-like structure inside of a building. He wouldn't know about the nature and wildlife and whatever else is out here in another galaxy, but this room looks lifeless to him, despite all the humans fussing about. Maybe it's the emergency light that bathes everything in a weak, gray light. Maybe it's how still everything seems, despite the noise of people.

They did tell him that they couldn't activate the city so far, that they are running out of power and will soon lose Atlantis to the floods of the ocean that cover her. John is kind of their last hope, his ATA-gene is strong and the wraith said with John there, Atlantis would rise again. But he doesn't know how he, the space-stuff newbie, could help them.

"Well, it's supposed to recognize you and light up now," McKay says next to him like he could read John's mind, but the man is talking to himself. The place remains dark and the Canadian shrugs. "Maybe she just needs a moment, after all these years."

That's right, John thinks. This place is ancient. Untouched for thousands of years. But all still looks safe and sound, and the impressiveness of that makes John feel very small. The great city of Atlantis is looming above him, a legacy he doesn't think he's worth holding the key to.

A woman walkes down the great staircase and introduces herself as Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Apparently she is the head of this expedition. John can see the glow in her eyes, the hope that he will rouse her precious city from its sleep. He smiles politely but inwardly recoils. He doesn't like disappointing people.

With her is a Colonel Sumner, whom John instantly doesn't like. This officer is the kind of man who would forbid him from going back for his comrades, even if there was more than just a shred of hope for them. It is evident that Sumner has read his file and doesn't like him either. Again, John smiles politely.

Everyone keeps glancing at the lights. It is McKay who finally bluntly snaps: "This doesn't work!" The man turns towards the wraith and glares accusingly at the alien, who, ignored so far, has made no attempt to take part in the conversation. In fact, he seems to be ignoring them as well.

It is strangely fascinating to watch. The wraith's head is swiveling ever so slowly in every direction, like he's just looking around, but he isn't. He doesn't look _at_ the hall but _past it_ and, John would bet, every other wall of this building. Whatever it is that he _does_ see, it seems to please him. Tension falls from his frame like dust being swept away. Todd still stands rigid and straight, but this is more a matter of pride and posture than anything else.

John has half a mind to ask him if this galaxy is less silent.

"So, what does our _expert_ say, why doesn't Atlantis respond to Sheppard?!" McKay needles on.

"She would, if he'd stopped doubting her and himself." The wraith's eyes land on John, looking at him with curiosity but also disappointment. Strangely enough John doesn't mind it though. It takes him a moment to realize that this is because the wraith isn't disappointed in him, but in McKay's not understanding.

"Well, excuse me for not knowing how to activate technology that, until a few days ago, I didn't even know existed," John defends himself anyway.

"I did not accuse you. It is only natural to doubt." The wraith walks up to him and it takes the marines around them a moment to scramble into action and lift their guns. It seems, John is not the only one who is a little too enthralled with the creatures strangeness. The wraith ignores them, secure in the knowledge that they will hesitate to shoot because at he moment he has a certain worth to them. Or maybe the self healing monster just doesn't care.

"But you must learn to push the doubt aside. I realize it might be a difficult feat, seeing as you harbor enough doubt to override the systems of a city that was _built_ to wake for, and obey, your genetic code," Todd seems to think that system failure is funny, "but this is the only way."

John regards him, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He is still skeptical. The wraith probably spent so much time as the SGC peoples' captive, their worshiping attitude towards this city must have rubbed off on him. "Why would the city even know what I think?" he asks.

"There is a mental component to the Lanteans' technology," Todd explains. John gives McKay a "Could've told me that!" kind of glare.

The scientist glowers. "I wanted to explain all of this here," he says.

John rolls his eyes and turns back to Todd. "Well, you show me then. You're good with this mental stuff, aren't you?"

To his surprise, the wraith laughs. All people around freeze, the rattling sound scaring them. John isn't entirely sure if Todd's laugh sounds so rusty because of the general rasp and echo in his voice or because the wraith just hasn't laughed in a very long time.

"John Sheppard, I would not know how to access a lantean city like that. I am the enemy and she is built to resist me. And even if I could, this city is a corpse to me. I will probably never understand why they included mental components into something so... dead." The wraith cocks his head to the side, still amused. "Perhaps they were just too lazy to push buttons," he muses.

John can't help but grin a little while the others grow a little red in the face and seem pissed. Apparently for them, the _Lanteans_ are nothing to laugh at. He looks at Todd, thoughtful. "Well, your talking implies you know how to activate _other_ technology via mind. So show me that, maybe the similarities can help me out," he finally demands.

"Excuse me, but we have no wraith tech here, nor would we allow _him_ anywhere near it if there was!" McKay interrupts them.

"There is no need for that..." Todd says, the strange echo that makes his voice sound so layered more present than before. The subtle reminder that he is not human, and needs not actually present an object to show it to someone, serves well for John, yet everyone else doesn't seem to get the hint. There is confusion and the clicks of readied weapons when he steps forward to free Todd's hand from the restraints because he refuses to kneel down so the wraith can touch his head. John freezes, but rolls his eyes.

"Captain Sheppard, what are you doing there?" Sumner snarls while McKay yells "I thought only the Queens can posses you like that?!"

The air force only very reluctantly reinstated John, and he pulls a face at the reminder of his demotion. Not that he cares much for the rank, but Major Sheppard just has a nicer ring to it. He slowly raises his hands up to calm down the trigger happy marines. Chancing a side glance at Todd, he is surprised to find the wraith is looking back with an equally exasperated expression. Their understanding does not help them though, it just unsettles the other humans even further.

Finally, Dr. Weir speaks up. "Dr. McKay, please calm yourself. Captain Sheppard, if you would please explain to us why you attempted removing the restraints of a _wraith_?" While she doesn't seem very open-minded when it comes to Todd, she at least remains calm and asks for explanations.

"Didn't feel like stooping down to my knees for the whole zapping pictures into my brain thingy. And what's he supposed to do? I think he's smarter than to attempt and free himself with that many guns pointed at him, regenerating powers or not. And he's in for the bigger game, right buddy?" There is a mocking quality to his voice. Just because he somewhat defends the wraith right now doesn't mean he actually likes the guy. He can't forget the casual arrogance with which the wraith seems to have decided that his life is worth more than that of someone else, nor does he think he can ever forgive it. Todd just looks at him and grins, understanding John's tone perfectly well it seems. Which is just another thing that drives John up the wall. He hates that all-knowing gaze, which reads him far too easily.

" _Zapping pictures into your brain thingy_?" McKay echoes, apparently unsure what to make of that.

John raises his brows. "Yeah, you know, when he touches your forehead and... no?" He trails of when none of the people present seems to understand. He turns to Todd.

"They don't know. Neither do all Sheppards." For the wraith that is obviously explanation enough.

"Oh," says John, not knowing what else to say. He feels mildly flattered.

"Wait, you mean he can transfer actual, sharp pictures into someone's head if he touches their forehead?" It seems Dr. McKay has finally understood and is quite intrigued. "I mean, we know about those ghost-hallucinations, but... Well it makes sense, when it comes down to it; we operate on electric impulses. I assume the ghosts happen when the wraith produce impulses so strong that they impact on us. After a while we grow kind of immune to them because our brain learns to filter them. Touching could help transfer the signals much more precisely, allowing for the wraith to use our mind as a canvas..." He turns to mumbling about how he needs to discuss that with Carson. John doesn't know who Carson is, but assumes he'll get to know the man sooner or later.

"I suggest, if we must conduct this experiment, that we do so in a secure environment." Colonel Sumner speaks up.

Dr. Weir thinks about it for a moment, then nods. "I agree. Follow me, please." She turns and walks away, leaving John and the others to follow.

John walks at the end of the group. He observes them all, the more or less indifferent marines, McKay who is still pondering the scientific aspects, Weir who is weighting pros and cons, Sumner who doesn't seem happy at all, and Todd. Todd doesn't show much of what he is thinking. There is a vague expression of boredom on his face but John has a feeling that this is the wraith's default setting, meant to throw others off. It is quite interesting to see how the wraith can switch between a very expressive body language and a rather bland one. John wonders if he does so on purpose.

They enter a room which is quite obviously the brig. Or at least John can't imagine what else the cage made of horizontal planks could be good for. There is a generator hooked up to cables pulled from the wall, and when McKay activates it some kind of force field flickers to life, encasing the prison cell. It seems, without the city working at full capacity, they had to hack their way into the systems of the brig and fix it up.

Todd walks into the cell without much of a problem but bares his teeth as he regards his surroundings. He does not complain though. The others look expectantly at John. The now-captain looks back with raised eyebrows. Their safety measures consist of locking him in with the wraith?

"You do not have to do this," Weir says. "But you must understand, we cannot take any unnecessary risks. Wraith Queens can control people to a degree and if there's even a chance that the males can too..." There is a hard edge to her voice that tells John of lessons learned the hard way. Maybe, if John was someone else, this would be handled differently, but Weir seems to build on the fact that Todd saved John for more than just a ticket back to Pegasus, and therefore will not harm him. It is what John thinks, too. He has no illusions that he is more than a chess piece here, albeit still a useful one.

So he shrugs, and walks into the cell, the door sliding shut behind him. Todd looks somewhat curious and raises his left hand in anticipation. John frees it from the restraint and steps back while the wraith flicks the stiffness out of his wrist. Then the creature raises two fingers to John's forehead. John can hear the others hold their breath just when he does.

* * *

_He walks through corridors, strangely organic in design, like the innards of a giant beast. Maybe Todd has heard about the story of Jonah and the whale while stuck on earth, and now makes some creative fun of John. If he does, then he is damn good at it because John can_ feel _his surroundings. The corridors, no, the_ ship _, answers to him, a subtle presence at the edge of his mind, not quite enough consciousness to be a true person but not dead or unfeeling either. There is even some intelligence there, sorting out impressions and data and letting him know the important things._

_He reaches what has to be the bridge, another wraith steps away and he takes the controls. The ship's ghost hones in on him, expectant, waiting for him to tell it where to go. With a thought, the engines flare to life, the loading hyper drive a tickle in his legs. Then they're off, the ship is contentedly and quietly working and he relaxes until he can feel the cold of space on his skin, the hive ship warning him that the hull needs time to accommodate the strain the jump has put on it._

_They drop out of hyper space and he does the mental equivalent to patting the ship on the shoulder. It has no true feelings, but neither is it indifferent to how they treat it. Not all wraith care about that, but he has made the experience that those who do are eventually called a legendary pilot. A well treated hive ship is a strong hive ship, ready to obey and be a home for thousands of years._

* * *

John almost drops to his knees when Todd takes his hand away, ending the transmission. He dimly recognizes the panicked questions of the humans in the room and distractedly waves them away with a floppy hand gesture. He is panting but doesn't care, just reproachfully stares at Todd. This has been a lot more intense than the strictly visual transmission he received the first time they did this.

"Next time warn me!" he demands between two intakes of breath. Todd smirks. If John was still ten years old he would've stuck his tongue out at the green bastard. But, he's a grown up, and so he straightens up, turns serious and looks at his surroundings. Is this the way this city is supposed to respond to him? Like another person, like something living? He carefully reaches out, timidly asking for the lights to switch on and replace the ugly gray glow of the emergency illumination.

And suddenly there is color.

Not much, the city is silver-gray in design, but now he can see the blue and gold highlights. And they are beautiful. Fascinated, he walks towards the corridor, the cell door moving out of his way on its own accord, letting him leave and explore. He barely registers that, following the lights that switch on for him as if in trance. He gapes in awe when the room with the gate comes to life, control consoles blinking and screens full of data.

Atlantis is _alive_ , different from Todd's ship in many ways, but the same in others. There is cold, technical data implanted in the back of his mind rather than the careful nudge of almost-feelings from something that is a part of you, but there is still a connection, there is something willing to obey and serve.

John feels light, he can't believe this is really working, but it does! Maybe, just maybe, this can be a new start for real. He turns to grin at McKay and Weir who had come after him and are still gaping. The scientist ignores John and heads for the control consoles, grabbing for a tablet PC with the enthusiasm of a child that was just given the plaything it always wanted. Weir stays to thank John, happiness overflowing from her eyes. There are cheers and someone pops a bottle of champagne.

Then the city starts groaning, the lights flicker, and everything goes to hell.

The walls creak and the floor vibrates. People scream and try to steady toppling crates and furniture. The lights turn gray again, and John doesn't know what to do. Just a moment ago everything worked so well, he should've known better than to expect it to last. He looks around for Todd, hoping the wraith would tell him where he went wrong. But Todd is busy, snarling at an angry Sumner who is pointing a gun at the alien and accuses him of sabotage. John makes his way across the shaking floor, trying to get their attention. He needs some instructions here, damn it!

Someone else seems to have the same idea. Dr. McKay scrambles over to the wraith and soldier as well, tablet PC clutched securely to his chest while he rants. "You said the city will activate if Sheppard is here, well it did! But what the hell is wrong now?! We still can't access her, but we need to or we're all going to die! The activation drained the ZPMs, the shields are failing and the ocean will drown us if that happens!" It seems the scientist is in panic.

"What are ZPMs?" John asks. Maybe he can fix what is broken if he knows what exactly it is.

"Energy cells! But it doesn't matter, we have nothing sufficient to replace them, our generators can't sustain the shields!" McKay is definitely panicking now.

Oddly enough, John is a little calmer now. Not his failing caused this, but the failing of the city's fancy batteries. He can think again. "So we need to use what energy we have left to raise the city, that way we can survive, right?"

"Yes but we don't know how to do that!" the Canadian snaps, and turns to the wraith, demanding answers with his glare.

Todd is the only one around who is perfectly calm. Now that Sumner has stopped yelling at him the wraith looks so at ease, John has to blink and confirm to himself that the calm creature in the middle of all this chaos is real. Turning to John, the wraith acknowledges their panic with a smug grin.

"All you need," he begins and his grin widens at McKay's rapt attention, "is a little patience..."

They are about to yell and demand a clearer answer, when the city lurches. John has that tingly feeling he sometimes gets when he uses a lift, this tiny pull when the cabin moves up that surprises him every time because he can't believe that after all the Gs he's felt as a pilot he's still sensitive enough to feel this unremarkable shift. And he grins from ear to ear as he realizes what is going on.

The vibration of the floor is not the shields giving out. It's the city rising.

He watches as understanding dawns on the human faces around him while the face of the wraith remains amused. Turning, he ignores the shaking floor and jogs towards the window, where he is greeted by the amazing view of silver towers rising from the sea towards the sky. Water cascades down gleaming facades, sparkling in the light, and John is giddy as a little kid in Disneyland when the city stabilizes and he can feel the presence of the digital consciousness again.

He turns back towards the room, where consoles light up again and everyone is back to cheering, and thinks to himself that, if Pegasus can offer cities like this, then it must be a really awesome galaxy. He can't wait to start exploring.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A late Happy New Year!
> 
> I have 6 different versions of this chapter and I hate them all. Well, maybe not hate, but I dislike them a lot. But I need this chapter to lead into the further story. So here it is...

The days of the next weeks blend together. John is allocated to one of the "gate teams". Atlantis Recon 1 is under the command of one Major Ford, and although it is a little weird at first to get ordered about by a younger man, they make do by developing a dynamic that leaves them on a friendly level. Ford still makes the final calls, but more often than not he will look for John's reaction.

In between, John sits through crash courses on what they have learned about Pegasus so far. (Which isn't much, considering that they've been busy trying to wake the city Atlantis and keep away all the things and people that are out to kill them.) So, slowly, he gets to know people. He learns to see past the man's arrogance and plays chess with McKay, eats and trains with Ford, Markham and Stackhouse, turns things on and off for the science guys who are still fascinated with the strength of his ATA-gene, and gives puddle jumper flight lessons to some of the marines. (He has to convince them to call the "gate ships" by that much better name, apparently he and Todd are the only ones who think it is the better designation.) It scares him a little how easily he falls into place here. He never really belonged anywhere, but he might just belong here.

He doesn't even realize that he hasn't had to deal with Todd for the whole inauguration time, until he has to visit the infirmary to get a stitch up. They went with Sumner on another trip to try and find some allies out here, and it blew up in their faces. Quite literally. Whoever called that planet home had planted some really nice land mines around the gate. It was sheer luck that no one was seriously injured; McKay dropping the apple he was munching on had saved their asses.

Anyway, he walks into the infirmary and finds the wraith sitting on top of an operation table, eating what appears to be a pear, while the one who has been introduced to John as Dr. Carson Beckett monitors him. Upon asking what's up, he is told that Carson has started the wraith-feeding-problem-solving by trying to find out just why the wraith can't draw sustenance from normal food, even though they _do_ have a seemingly perfectly fine digestive system. Beckett knows they have one, because he autopsied the two wraith that were gifted to Atlantis along with Todd but didn't make it as long as he did. Todd himself has grudgingly allowed himself to be scanned by the ancient machines in the infirmary, adding to the certainty that wraith do have a quite humanoid body with a quite humanoid set of intestines.

Only "quite" doesn't help them though.

While Beckett explains, John remembers McKay telling him that wraith are hybrid creatures, part human, part bug. He finds it perfectly legitimate that things are messed up in a body made from a human-bug-combo, and wonders how it was even possible for something as viable as the wraith to come out of it at all.

Todd has finished up his fruit while John was thinking. The wraith has apparently been given other stuff as well, Beckett had taken a look at his teeth and started with different kinds of meat, then fish. Now, it is fruits, and John is interested enough to stay around for the bread, too.

It yields the same result as everything else. Todd's stomach acid is apparently so aggressive, it dissolves the food to a degree where there is simply nothing left to digest. All that remains of meat, fish, fruit and bread is a little gas that Todd emits in a little belch.

John suggests they could go out and find an Iratus Bug for Beckett to examine, maybe the answer lies in the bug part of the wraith rather than the human part.

"You hate bugs," is all that Todd says.

John doesn't understand why the wraith assumes that. He still insists that bug catching would probably be more fun than meeting angry, land mine hiding, people again.

"So, where can we find your distant relatives?" he asks Todd.

The wraith regards him and John suddenly feels inexplicably young. "You need one more friend before I tell you that," the creature finally says.

John frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Todd gives him a gate address. John groans, but goes to convince Dr. Weir that they should go there, anyway.

* * *

 

He likes the Athosian people. Colonel Sumner probably didn't earn his military rank for nothing, but, as far as John is concerned, he sucks at establishing friendly contact. So John overrides the man and just starts talking. He earns Atlantis new friends and they are able to save most of them when the wraith come. He resolves to go and thank Todd for that.

But it feels weird. He now knows, from his own experience, why the wraith are considered enemies. When they went back to Athos a day after the hasty evacuation, they couldn't find a single survivor. All those that had to be left behind are lost. And Todd is one of those predators who took all these humans. Their little arrangement doesn't change the fact that the wraith needs to feed, and will do so if given the chance. But, this wraith is willing to work on a solution. John diligently keeps that in the back of his mind.

He finds the creature in the infirmary again. Beckett has given him something to calm that furious stomach acid down, hoping maybe that would wake the wraith's innards up. It ended in Todd puking the rotten but still perfectly undigested food. The wraith seems fine and doesn't complain, but Beckett insists on monitoring him.

"I see you found what was to find," Todd says when he sees John walking up to the bed he is sitting on, his ankles and wrists chained to the frame. There are two marines guarding him, who politely pass on a P90 to John and then leave them alone.

John leans against the neighboring bed and shrugs, absentmindedly checking the weapon. "We found the Athosians. We were able to save a lot of them and, even though I am grateful, I don't understand why you sent us there. Of what use is their safety to you?"

"As I told you, you need another friend to walk further." Todd says as if that is crystal clear.

"Yeah, but whom?" John asks.

Todd just smiles and turns towards the door. Just as Teyla Emmagan walks in.

The leader of the Athosian people stops cold in shock. "I thought I was mistaken..." she whispers as she stares at Todd, eyes wide. Then her face turns cold. "You work with the wraith?!" she hisses at John.

"We kinda work with this one..." John hesitatingly admits.

"You saved us from one of their clans to gift us to another one!" she accuses. "I will not let that happen!"

John resolves on telling Beckett that leaving sharp equipment out in the open will be a no-go from now on. Teyla has grabbed one of the doctor's scalpels and is heading for Todd. He lifts his P90.

He doesn't want to shoot anyone but he might not get to choose. Todd is their somewhat alley at the moment, and as such, he should be protected. Plus, no matter what John thinks about the how, the wraith has saved his life. Has given him something new.

Teyla, on the other hand, is a fellow human. War has taught John that this means little to a lot of people, but he likes to think that it means something to him. He likes her, too. She seems to be the kind of person you want by your side in a fight.

And while he is trying to determine what to do and whom to treat how, Wraith and Athosian have already clashed.

Teyla's borrowed scalpel is at Todd's throat, but the wraith has his feeding hand closed around her throat in turn. It is a rather bloody hand, forcefully and suddenly pulling it out of the metal handcuff has practically skinned the appendage. Flesh and bone are on show in many places, and sinews flex in a very creepy display of functionality when the wraith tightens his hold. But the most disturbing thing is the greenish skin that slowly but surely creeps back into place. John stares, fascinated, but can't help feeling a little sick.

He snaps back into reality when Teyla makes the distinct sound of a choking person. "Todd, let go of her! Teyla, drop that blade! Now!"

The only reaction are short glances at him, coming from two sets of very defiant eyes. John is pissed.

The lights flicker.

This time, Todd's gaze moves to John for good. "It is ill-advised to let anger blend into your ship's system," the wraith says, loosening his hand enough for Teyla to gasp for a single breath of air.

"That wasn't me," John tells him.

The intercom comes to live with a scratchy sound, a disembodied voice asking for John to come to the gate room. Hasty footfalls announce McKay even before the man steps into the infirmary and comes to a stop with a shocked "What the hell is going on here!?"

"I was about to ask you the same," John says, then remembers he still has a situation at hand. "Todd, let go of her. Teyla, drop that scalpel. **Now**."

No one moves. The lights flicker again. The wraith narrows his eyes, but obeys. Teyla gasps for more air as she reluctantly drops the scalpel. They keep wary eyes on each other as Teyla steps back and Todd leans into the pillow that props him up against the bed's metal frame.

"I'm listening," John tells McKay. The astrophysicist doesn't seem quite convinced that all is fine again, but other things apparently are of more importance.

"We have some very strange power fluctuations and don't know what is causing them. And while the gene-therapy did work on me, the city seems to like you better still, so we we're hoping you could get extra info out of her." John is quite convinced that underneath his annoyed expression McKay is actually pouting. The man's ego doesn't seem to take well to the fact that the ancient city ignores his IQ and knowledge.

He rolls his eyes, and agrees to come help. Finally, he throws Teyla a look that says they will talk later, then escorts Todd back to the brig while she walks off, heels slamming the rhythm of reined in anger into the floor.

John scrutinizes the wraith. The creature does this strange thing again, where he looks like he can hear and see more than what John's senses can figure out in the space of the corridor. "Do you know what's going on?" he asks.

"I know the children know," is Todd's cryptic answer. John doesn't bother to ask for clarification. The wraith doesn't look like he is being difficult on purpose, this time. In fact, Todd is frowning to himself, seemingly a little confused.

"I'll go ask them then," John shrugs. "You know how to get our attention if you have a more helpful idea." And he leaves the wraith in the brig and jogs to the gate room.

They tell him one of the athosian kids has been reported missing, and John suddenly thinks that Todd might have said something important after all. When they find Jinto, it is revealed they have a big problem. The little athosian freed _something_ while playing in the vast, uncatalogued areas of the city, and that something is hungry. Like a wraith, it feasts on others' energy. The difference is that it's not specialized on humans. When it comes around, humans and lights are out just the same. Everything is out. The kids are right to fear the dark.

Yet in the end, they sit in the lightless gate-room, they have no choice but to hide in one kind of darkness to escape another. Hoping their problem will leave through the gate, they wait. But it doesn't. The Darkness, and John thinks it definitely deserves that capital D, feasts on one of their naquadah-generators, which is fine because they set it out as bait. What isn't fine is that the Darkness also incapacitates the MALP that carries their precious bait.

"What now?" he hisses quietly to McKay.

"How should I know!" the man hisses back.

"I thought you're supposed to be the smartest guy around!" John needles on because the situation leaves him tense, and a little friendly fight with McKay calms his nerves.

"Well, I am, but that doesn't mean I'm omniscient!" The Canadian is red in the face by now.

"I should probably go get Todd, he knows stuff." John tries to grin not too obviously.

"He grew up in this galaxy, that's his only advantage!" A quiet huff. "But fine, let's go!"

Two marines in tow, they leave for the brig. Only to find it empty.

The door is wide open and McKay curses at the tiny, lock-opening black-outs caused by power-fluctuations and at all the people who didn't remember that this was how Todd got out in the first place. He doesn't pay attention to the fact that he could've remembered the black-out caused by the other wraith's attempt at calling the hives in the desert around Area 51 himself, but gets out a gadget they found in a puddle jumper. The life-sign-detector doesn't differentiate between species, yet one dot marks a living being far away from everyone else and they run there. And it was the right guess.

The wraith looks different. He is no longer wearing the tatters of his gray jumpsuit but an equally bullet riddled coat, which falls down to his ankles in the grayish-brown colors of leather that used to be black a long time ago. Still as a statue, he stands and watches the stars, white hair swaying in the light breeze on the balcony. When a P90 clicks, he turns, and John flinches a little in surprise. Out here in the twilight of dusk, the usually yellow eyes glow as blue as the stargate from the depth of the shadowed face.

"You know, breaking out of the brig and looking that creepy could motivate people to shoot you," he tells the wraith.

"Everywhere and every time the sky is worth it," is the creature's answer.

"To all Todds?" John doesn't want to be so curious, but he is.

Todd nods. Then laughs. "You understand quick, John Sheppard."

"Handling the weird alien is apparently my job," John shrugs. Todd only grins wider.

"Now that you're done flirting, can we go back to problem solving?" McKay interrupts them.

"What, pray tell, is the problem?" Todd asks.

"An energy parasite."

"I'm hardly a problem, I'm behaving myself," the wraith grins a sharp toothed grin.

McKay splutters. "Your jokes are bad!" he finally hisses.

"So is my luck, but I get by..." Shrugging, the wraith turns to John. "Follow me, Sheppard."

In the end, it is McKay who finds the ancient shield in the laboratory the wraith leads them to. They discuss it, Dr. Weir says it is Rodney's choice, she will not order him to put his hopes of survival into a piece of technology that might or might not be enough to keep the Darkness from killing him. But then the bait generator is sucked dry and Rodney runs without thinking. He runs for a second one and runs for the gate and saves the day, Atlantis and all people there.

John is impressed. And surprised at the amount of fear he felt when for a moment it seemed like the shield failed. It seems he has counted McKay a friend, even though he once came to the conclusion that he would never make new ones again.

So maybe he does really fit in here. Maybe this is really a home and a life.

He just hopes that it won't turn to dust.

Turning, John glances at the one who might know the answer. Even arguing with McKay about whether or not he can keep his clothes that he stole back, Todd looks quite regal. But also very not-human. Why didn't the wraith try to flee? He could have probably made it through the Darkness. Run through the gate and dial home from whereever he will end up being... John would probably try.

Probably.

Todd has a purpose and John has been told that the wraith can become very old. Older than he can imagine, even if no one knows an exact number. It doesn't matter, what matters is that this old, almost immortal creature has time for the most elaborate plans if only there is enough patience. And John has a feeling that Todd is more patient than anyone he ever met and will meet. That cunning spark in the yellow eyes has marked the wraith a schemer. Damaged he may be, but he should not be underestimated.

If John would probably stay to fulfill his plan, then Todd will for sure.

And as Todd proudly wins the argument about his tattered coat, John can't help but trust that this story will end in a happy end. A schemer the wraith might be, but the human can't shake the feeling that there is also a shred of honor involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where Todd dug up his coat will be explained in the next chapter, it just didn't fit in here.
> 
> Today's action was stolen from/inspired by an actual SGA episode, but action made up by me is to follow soon. Probably in the next chapter. Hope this chapter didn't scare you off and you'll stay around for new adventures.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually only the first half of a rather long chapter, which I cut in half because I'm not entirely happy with the second half yet, and to keep the chapter length somewhat the same. Also didn't want to leave you waiting any longer while I still work on the second part...
> 
> That said, hope you have fun!

"Just why did you steal back clothes that are just as bullet riddled as the ones you were wearing before? I'm sure we could've just given you a new jumpsuit, had you asked," John wants to know as he fastens the new restraints around the wraith's wrists. The new ones are made from leather and are much broader than the normal metal cuffs, and even if the material seems less durable at first glance, Todd will have a much harder time pulling his hands out of those.

"I just prefer my own attire," Todd says, glancing down to where John connects the cuffs and chains to the belt they forced on the wraith. He seems to find it very amusing that they are this cautious with him.

"Looks ridiculous anyway."

"I'd rather be a wraith looking ridiculous in proper clothes than a wraith looking ridiculous in those clothes of yours."

John shrugs and pulls the last strap tight. "It's all the same to me."

"What _I_ would like to know," Rodney quips from where he is skeptically watching the whole procedure, "is how you found them in the first place. I mean, I can't imagine you stumbled upon them by accident. Even the biologists didn't remember which box they put them in after giving up on finding out just exactly what kind of leather this is!"

"Oh they did remember. It took me a while to dig that deep into their memories, but you humans think so loud, and I had nothing better to do..."

Rodney narrows his eyes. "You shouldn't be so perceptive. You're a male, all other males haven't shown abilities like that."

Todd smirks. "Maybe they prefer to keep advantages to themselves..."

"I don't think your two friends had any advantage due to keeping quiet," the Canadian snaps.

Todd's smirk changes into a definitely pissed off baring of teeth. "You know nothing about wraith, _Meredith_."

McKay splutters and goes red in the face while John chuckles. "Meredith?!"

"Yeah, very funny, I know!" The embarrassed scientist turns back to the wraith. "And I would know more if you weren't so damn secretive about everything!"

"Whatever I would have told you would have been used to kill my kind. You were not ready to learn. Maybe you still aren't..." Todd hisses, then turns to John. "Do we have to take him along?"

"Yes we do." John shrugs, half way apologetic. He doesn't understand why Todd prefers him over Rodney so much, he isn't exactly trusting or liking the wraith either. But apparently Todd has more faith in him than the rest, anyway.

"Let's go!" he says and leads the wraith from the brig to the gate room, where the rest of the team is waiting. Ford, Markham and Stackhouse are ready, so is Teyla Emmagan. Wraith and Athosian greet each other with a cold glare while the rest of the group is a little more cheerful. After being cooped up for almost a week because energy is precious and gate activation therefore rare, they can finally go out. John looks forward to it, especially because if they get some new naquadah they can travel by gate a lot more.

Losing one generator to the Darkness would have been hard, but they could've gotten by. Losing a second one was too much. The city's hunger for energy is a constant nagging in the back of John's mind. They can keep the important places like infirmary and gate-room going, but everywhere else experiences power fluctuations like the Darkness never vanished after all. It scares the Athosians, and that's why Teyla took the offer of being part of the team despite her strong disapproval of the wraith on Atlantis.

But now they are finally out for new naquadah. The mineral is rare and earth can't supply them right now, neither with a new generator nor with enough material to fix up the empty one they already have. So they have 'googled' up planets where they might find some, the vast data bank of Atlantis is amazing and they had all looked forward to a simple solution. Look up a gate address, go get naquadah. So much of the Lanteans' (And again John and Todd are the only ones who like a different name better, everyone else refers to them as the Ancients) technology is based on naquadah, they surely had a supply planet somewhere.

Unfortunately for the current inhabitants of Atlantis, none of the gate addresses is still connected to a planet they could visit.

Analyses of the weapon radiation that was left on the single, broken planet they could reach showed wraith tech was involved. Asking Todd about it got them a laugh.

"Ahh, it's nice to see how even after all this time the lack of naquadah supply brings this city to it's knees," the wraith had said. "Nothing like a thorough victory."

"Yeah but now you're stuck with us and this city, so telling us where to get some naquadah would help you, too, you know?" John had pointed out.

And now here they are, waiting for the MALP to explore the planet Todd told them about. They have decided to take the wraith with them, as guide and to make sure that it isn't a trap, but the MALP would be first to go through the gate anyway. No one liked the idea of ending up surrounded by something like poisonous atmosphere. Todd might make it long enough to dial the gate to somewhere else, but the humans weren't so bent on finding out how long they would last.

So the MALP slowly rolls through the gate. And doesn't send a single picture.

"I told you, there is no use in sending a mechanical spy," Todd reminds them smugly.

"So you did," John agrees sourly. Apparently he misjudged the alien's intention behind the words, though. He assumed Todd was saying they could trust him. He didn't think that Todd was actually warning them that a MALP would be useless in this operation. "Maybe you should've also told us _why_ you think so!"

"I have made the experience that humans do not listen anyway. You don't learn until you've made your own mistakes."

"Do _you_ listen to _human_ advice?" John raises a brow.

Todd shrugs. "I never said wraith are any better." He then turns to Rodney. "This planet was not destroyed because it had value to us, too. It was fairly easy to keep it for ourselves because it has its own, natural, electromagnetic field, rendering any technology useless."

"Great. So we have no way of knowing what is out there," Rodney huffs.

"I am willing to walk out there restrained like this. Do you think I would do so if I was expecting danger?" Todd asks. Rodney concedes the point with another huff. John doesn't.

"It's not danger for _you_ we're worried about," he says.

"We do not trust you to not lead us into a trap," Teyla agrees. Her and John's conversation about the confrontation in the infirmary had ended on a bitter note. Teyla will not allow a wraith the benefit of the doubt. John can understand, though he would rather have a more harmonious team. But this isn't his call anyway. The one who is calling the shots is Ford, and Ford has sanctioned taking Todd with them. So he turns to their silent C.O.

Ford seems to be trying to analyze the situation. His gaze flickers between John and Todd, and John knows the kid is trying to gauge just how good John can guess what the wraith is planning. He kind of expects the next question even before it leaves Ford's lips.

"You think we can trust him? You know him better than I do."

John bites his lip. To say he _knows_ Todd is a little presumptuous. All he knows is that there is something more to the wraith than the other humans see, and that the creature won't hurt him for now. Doesn't mean he knows if Todd would hurt anybody else.

He's pretty sure Sumner would shut the mission down right here, but Sumner, and Weir, too, are busy doing their paperwork about the incident with the Darkness. And John isn't about to go get them. He wants to go out there. He doesn't mind taking the risk. What has him hesitate is that others will tag along. And they apparently put their fate in his judgement of a creature they don't understand themselves.

The human turns and stares at the wraith. Todd stares back at John, face not telling anything.

Yet Todd has been exceptionally upbeat ever since they decided to take him along. He might have kept a tight lid on it and John is not sure if anyone else noticed, but _he_ did notice the subtle change in behavior. Todd speaks more and his words are less cryptic, his mind not drifting away even once. It might be that the wraith is too busy scheming to lose track of reality, but...

He remembers the feeling of space on his skin, a cold shudder transmitted by a hive ship. And he comes to the conclusion that a creature who remembers that so fondly would love to feel the wind on their skin, especially after such long captivity.

Todd had said the sky is always worth it. He isn't planning anything. John is very sure that Todd is simply looking forwards to getting to go outside.

Yet a little caution can't be too bad.

It ends with John walking around the not-moving creature and pulling his hand gun. He settles its mouth against the back of the wraith's head. "Something hits us, a bullet hits you. Do we have an agreement?"

The wraith laughs. "We sure do, John Sheppard."

* * *

What greets them on the other side is desert. A black desert underneath gray skies. John feels like he is caught in a screenshot of a strange black and white movie. But he's actually a little relieved about that, because actually desert-colored deserts tend to put him on edge. (He adamantly refuses to think that maybe he moved to Vegas, a 'city of sin' in the middle of a desert, to punish himself for failing in Afghanistan) The other humans seem to find the empty place just as eerie as he does, he can see the post-apocalyptic thoughts on their faces as they fan out around the still MALP. He wishes he could see Todd's face. But all he can gauge from the wraith is a deep intake of breath.

"Where to go?" Ford addresses the alien, looking at his useless compass.

"A couple miles towards the sun."

A couple miles?" McKay whines, abandoning his studies of the strange, metallic sand. "On sand? In this heat?!"

It is indeed hot. Despite the cold colors the place is heated up, and John moves his feet that begin to feel uncomfortably warm at the verbal reminder of the temperatures. Turning to their right, he tries to look into the direction Todd told them, but the sun low above the horizon is glaring harshly. He has to look away or risk being blinded. "What's out there?" he asks, fishing for his sunglasses as he speaks.

"Your naquadah." It seems Todd dislikes the glare even more, he doesn't even try glancing in the direction he wants to go. "Once the sun has wandered on you can see a few small mountains."

"No wonder the ancients gave up on this place. The wraith want it and there's no means of transportation. I too wouldn't want to get naquadah here..." Rodney grumbles.

"There is a way of transportation. At least there was..." Todd is looking around after all.

"We won't let you near any wraith-tech," Ford announces.

Todd just raises an eyebrow.

"Right, technology is useless..." Ford mutters. "Then we won't let you near anything... suspicious."

"Is a simple box in the ground suspicious?"

"I guess not..."

Todd marches off to the side and John scrambles after him. Teyla's and the others' weapons click as they are ready. "Don't do that again!" John tells the wraith.

Todd slowly turns to look at him over his shoulder. "I will now move," he tells John slow and clearly, like the English language was foreign to the human rather than the wraith. John swallows a sarcastic answer in favor of a question.

"How come you all speak one language, anyway?" He glances at Teyla, too, before going back to watching Todd get to work.

"During the great war the Ancestors united all human folks to fight by their side. They taught us one language to unite us. Seeing as most of your people speak it too, they probably tried establishing it on earth as well. The wraith most likely learned because it's convenient in controlling their worshipers." She glares hatred at the wraith who swipes the black sand off of something hidden in the ground. Restrained as he is, he only makes slow progress under the humans' watchful gaze. Apparently it doesn't stop him from listening in though.

"As a matter of fact, the wraith have known this language long before the war. The _why_ has been lost in history but we kept teaching it. Indeed for convenience." He throws Teyla a sharp-toothed grin. She looks about ready to strangle the wraith.

"Aggravating people for fun doesn't help your position in the slightest, Todd," John interferes. Then gets ready to pull the trigger because Todd has pulled a lever that sticks out of the sand and there is the clicking sound of old mechanics.

He watches a trap door open up and is very surprised that even after a half a minute nothing jumps at them. But even as the old springs fail half way through and Todd has to open the hatch manually the rest of he way, there is nothing dangerous. All that is there is an iron-jacketed hole in the ground that holds what appears to be old leather strings.

"Is that... bridle?" Stackhouse slowly asks, peering into the buried container.

"Transportation without technology; we're going to ride some animals?" Rodney seems to dislike the idea a lot.

"Indeed. If you would get it out, I'm a little incapacitated." Todd mildly pulls at his restraints, demonstrating his short range of reach.

Getting a nod from Ford, they get the old leather out. And realize it's still surprisingly soft.

"This looks a little too good to not have been treated in a while..." Stackhouse says.

They look around suspiciously.

"It is pretty durable." Todd pats his side, indicating it's the same leather as that which clothes him.

"We need to get that coat back to the biologists..." Rodney mutters. Todd growls. "Or you could just tell us what it's made from!" the scientist snaps. The constant heat seems to have turned his mood foul enough to not care.

"The hive provides it," Todd admits grouchily.

"So this is... ewww! Hive-ship-skin!" Rodney almost drops the bridle he just took from Markham to examine it. But, in the end, curiosity wins out and he stares at the material with grossed out fascination. "How do you harvest it, do you just scrape it off the hull or something?"

Todd gives him a stare that says "Who in their right mind would thin out a space ship's hull?" and turns to John without any comment. "There should be a whistle," he tells the captain.

They all look at what they have in their hands, even the pouting McKay. Markham turns out to be the one holding the small object.

"Well... blow it, I guess." Ford shrugs. So Markham does lift it to his lips.

The sound has them slap their hands over their ears. John barely manages to fight the instinct and keep his pistol where it is, while Todd winces and can't do anything anyway.

"Now let's hope they're still there... and tame," the wraith says when their collective tinnitus wears off.

" _They might not be tame_?" Rodney blanches a little despite his heat reddened face.

John doesn't listen. He's busy watching their surroundings because the sand is _moving_.

"Todd..." he begins threateningly. And that is when a creature breaks out of the sand.

Weapons at the ready they watch it as it circles them, black and sleek. It is a reptile, even though the head shape reminds John of a horse. Apart from the fact that the jaws open wide as a crocodile maw. Not to mention the tiny, shimmering scales that hide it perfectly in the black sands. A very creepy reptile that doesn't seem entirely friendly. It hisses.

So does Todd.

Ears that have been flattened to the skull twitch, nostrils that seem to shut up completely between each intake of breath flutter as it takes a sniff of their scents. It hisses again; the wraith answers in kind, baring teeth that, compared to the dentistry of the still-circling creature, suddenly seem very unimpressive but still aren't missing their effect. A long tail swishes about like that of an angry cat. Until now John has been pretty sure that lizards couldn't prowl, yet this thing somehow manages just that. And it comes right at them. Until it's nose to nose with the wraith.

Todd doesn't back down and, oddly enough, that's enough for John to remain right behind the wraith, gun still ready to fire but slowly moving to aim past Todd's head at the creature. Neither predator seems to care for him though. They are staring at each other, slit pupil vs. slit pupil, yellow against dark orange.

Then, Todd starts grinning and the creature twitches and lays down. Docile as a happy dog. The humans can't help but gape.

"How... " Rodney starts.

"Wraith are not the only telepathic creatures." Todd says. He reaches out as far as he can and the lizard that could easily eat them happily nudges its nose into his palm. It is weird to see such a creepy creature do that. John is pretty sure that this animal could be the reason for dragon tales.

"How intelligent is it?" Ford asks, warily peering at it.

"Not very. They can learn and remember simple tricks." As if on cue the creature moves its head down, snapping at Todd's ankles. John jumps, expecting a legless wraith to fall into him. Todd stays standing where he is. A crunching sound and the chains connecting the wraith's feet are broken.

"They also have very strong jaws," the wraith casually adds.

"Let it near your hands, and I will have to shoot either you or it," John warns. "Or both."

The black head that just moved up falls back down to taloned feet. Todd makes another hissing sound and nods his own head in the general direction of the sun. The creature (John should really ask for a species name) turns and makes a sound that John is pretty sure he heard before when watching Jurassic Park. An answering sound echoes from somewhere under the sand and another head pops up, followed by two more. The reptiles come and flank the one already there. They are a little smaller and John wonders if it's age, or gender differences, or if the first is simply an alpha. Strange how not so long ago all he wondered about was how to make a day go by quickly, and now here he is, facing the most amazing things.

The fourth reptile moves in from their right, this one looking quite cranky compared to the others, dark tail twitching. Rodney puts his pointer finger to his nose. "I won't take that one."

And John laughs.

Odd it might be, but he likes his new life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the late second half of the black sand planet adventure!

The heat is sweltering. Until a few minutes ago it wasn't that bad; and the che-rah, as Todd calls their lizard-ride, are able to make a good deal of speed. But after about two hours at about 60kmh, John has to admit he can't deny them their break. So now they are crawling forward at the speed of a human walking and there is no wind cooling them down. John and the others are sweaty and grumpy.

"How do you do it?!" McKay demands to know, glaring at Todd. "You're wearing enough leather to make a two seat couch from it. How come you aren't melting like the rest of us?! "

"A two seat couch?" Todd asks.

"A piece of furniture. Anyway, that's not the point!" comes the snappy answer with an angry pull at a collar that has already been loosened as far as it goes.

Todd raises an eyebrow but apparently decides to humor the scientist. "Bugs do not generate their own body heat. Humans do. Wraith are a combination of both. Luckily for us, this results in the ability to generate body heat when needed, but also to stop when the surrounding temperature is high enough to profit from it. I am currently functioning due to the heat around us."

"Well, I'll be damned," McKay grumbles. The che-rah he's on shakes its head and pulls at the reins, then stops. The other lizards follow its example. McKay, and everyone else of them who's ever seen a cowboy-movie, clumsily nudge their mount's flanks with their heels. And of course it's of no use, the reptiles completely ignore them.

"What's going on?" John asks Todd. He's been the unfortunate one who's had to share his ride with the wraith. He could've shared with Teyla and let Todd have the single ride, but they agreed on not leaving Todd with the chance to just ride off without them. So here he is, his gun aimed at Todd's back and his free hand holding on to one of the spikes that protrude from the che-rah's back. There are many of those and John is quite happy that they divide his and Todd's seat and leave enough space to sit between.

Todd is neither nudging their che-rah, nor is he pulling at the reins like Stackhouse, who's trying to lead his and Markham's ride a little closer to the group. If the wraith is communicating with the animal, it is probably telepathic. McKay had initially grouched about that. Standing in front of his ride and unsure how to get the bridle on it, he'd asked why they needed it anyway, when Todd could just lead the animals telepathically. Couldn't he?

Todd had shut the argument down with a simple "It is quite tiring to constantly stay connected with a being whose main concern is to get the females of the group to agree to mating."

Suddenly, the che-rah lie down. John almost accidentally pulls the trigger of his gun as his muscles instinctively clench to keep him from falling of the suddenly moving animal.

"If you don't want an accidentally, or purposely, fired bullet in your body, you should really start announcing stuff like this!" he snaps.

Todd ignores him, but John already isn't interested in an answer anymore. The skin and bone frill that has previously been flattened to the lizards' necks has fanned open. And John knows that this means something dangerous is coming up.

Is there another group of che-rah and they are trespassing their territory? Will there be a fight or something?

"Flatten yourself against your che-rah's back, and whatever you do, don't let go of it!" Todd instructs with a voice that tells John he has had a command before.

"Why?" he asks, as he wonders how wraith ranking systems work and what rank has been Todd's .

His answer comes in the form of a rumbling sound and a tremble running through the ground.

"Look!" Ford yells from where he and Teyla are on their ride. He points a finger to the horizon.

John looks. And groans.

A wall of sand and wind, moving across the desert plain like a shock wave. The che-rah wiggle themselves deep enough into the ground for John's heels to touch the sand again, then put their heads down. Todd leans forwards and flattens himself against the animal as far as the spiked back allows. The wraith has told them what to do and apparently doesn't care if the humans follow his instructions. John frowns. The only way for him to get his head down is to flatten himself against Todd's back.

"Just do it, Sheppard." Apparently Todd isn't that happy either but won't balk at doing the necessary.

"Are you in my head again?" John asks, annoyed but with some humor to it.

"I am not," is Todd's simple answer, barely heard above the rumble of the sand wave closing in.

John sighs, then does what is necessary and bends forward. Cheek to the leather-covered back of the wraith, he can see the skin frill of the che-rah coming down out of his peripheral vision. It gently lies down over them, the border barely reaching John's shoulders. But it's better than nothing.

Definitely better than nothing because the sand pelting over John's back tells him that he would've suffocated otherwise. He dimly hopes that the che-rah will be all right, as he clings to it, gritting his teeth.

The che-rah is definitely all right. With a happy sounding screech it rises and shakes off the sand and, almost, John, too. The surprised human reflexively grabs on to the body in front of him, eliciting a startled and pissed-off hiss from the wraith.

"Do you know what a cat is?" he asks, rather than apologizing.

"I don't think so," Todd says, curiosity calming him.

"Well, they hiss a lot, too. I think Rodney smuggled his through the gate and you two should definitely meet," John tells the alien as he dusts himself off.

Before Todd can say anything there's a worried call of "Doctor McKay!" from Teyla and they all turn to look for the man. The back of his che-rah is definitely empty, the creature looking over its shoulder, as smug as a lizard can.

"God, I hate this planet!" comes the grumble from the Canadian, who is sitting flat on his ass where he fell of his ride as it shook the sand off. John is no longer worried after that. If McKay can still grumble then McKay is still all right.

"The quicker you get back on the lizard, McKay, the quicker we can be done here," he calls, amused.

"Yeah, yeah, su- whoa!"

John turns to what McKay is staring at and comes to the conclusion that "woah" is a sufficient description for what he sees.

Ships. Their skeletal remains stick out of the sand that has been shifted about when the shock wave rolled over it, an eerie sight that speaks of death and war. At least five puddle jumper and just as many darts have found their graves here, and those graves have surely been plundered many times for there is barely anything left of what survived the initial impact on the ground.

"How did they end up here?" Ford asks, seemingly quite impressed.

"There was a fight above the planet's atmosphere, outside the reach of the electro-magnetic field. These ships downed each other and gravity did the rest." Todd says. They can't tell if he's guessing or if he actually knows it. But his explanation seems legit, so John decides to let it slide.

"Doesn't seem like there's anything salvageable among it. I'd say we go on?" he suggests.

Ford nods and so they wait for McKay to climb back on his che-rah and continue their journey. The reptiles soon speed up again, and everyone enjoys the wind. They spot some more shipwrecks but none look any more worth an approach than the first one.

Unlike the ships that greet them when they finally arrive at their destination.

They stare at the wraith cruiser and the ancient ship it as come down on top of, both wrecks neatly nestled in between the rock formations that form the small mountains they have come for. Intact apart from the battle and impact damage, the cruiser has nearly completely smothered the lantean ship underneath its bulk, and the perfect still life of a battle long since lost looms above the humans and the wraith who get off of their che-rahs next to the remains of the cruiser's left wing. The dull silver of the mechanic, and the bone-white and gray of the organic, ship fit into the setting remarkably well. John knows McKay has taken a picture as they approached, and idly ponders the possibility of it ending up as someone's desktop wallpaper.

"Looks like the cruiser did a kamikaze…" Stackhouse ponders.

"True… did he?" John asks Todd just for the fun of it.

Predictably, the wrath does not know what a kamikaze is. He plays it over well though, answering "The cruiser rammed the lantean ship and brought it down with it," and leaving the humans to interpret that as a yes or no. With a hiss and a nod of his head that asks to follow, the wraith starts moving, walking toward the ship wrecks. It seems he intends to climb the wing of the cruiser. John wonders how Todd plans to get up on its edge with his hands shackled in a way that definitely doesn't allow for the wraith to pull himself up. The answer is simple. Todd _jumps_.

John blinks and marvels at the fact that the wraith apparently has no problem covering a solid 5,5 feet height in a single bound. He is about to reprimand the wraith for getting too far away from the group when there's a sharp "Wraith!" coming from Teyla.

"Where?" he asks, eyes and gun trained on Todd's face. The wraith expression says nothing, neither is a verbal explanation coming.

"They seem there and yet not… I can't tell, his presence is distracting, but they don't feel right anyway." She is staring at Todd, curiosity mixed with distaste.

"Important is that they won't harm you and therefore are of no concern to you. We should move on," the wraith says, face still unmoved but a with a remarkable amount of coldness in his voice.

"Harmless wraith?! There is no such thing as harmless wraith, and if there were, why on this planet?" McKay wonders.

"They will not interfere with your task of getting naquadah, so why bother with them anyway?" Todd asks. "Why not avoid an unnecessary risk?"

John feels like the point the wraith is making isn't his real cause for talking them into ignoring the issue. Todd is hiding something.

"I'd say we go check this out," he announces and quickly glances at Ford, never daring to truly take his eyes off the wraith.

"I agree," Ford says. He turns to Teyla for guidance in the right direction and John is about to tell Todd to come down from the cruiser wing lest he wants a bullet between his eyes, when the wraith moves on his own. Landing with all the grace of a cat but stomping off just as pissed off as the water drenched version of the same animal, he wordlessly takes the lead.

They round the cruiser wing, the ceh-rah following them. Soon they can see the hull of the lantean ship, the metal gleaming only dully, for not much of the sandstorms can blast past the stone formations into this valley and polish it. There's also a dark spot, a breach in the hull that allows entrance.

It's guarded by two wraith.

Wraith that neither move nor react to them in any way. The group stands and stares, weapons drawn and ready to fire, only frozen by the sheer lack of reaction and the fact that something about the guards seems off.

They wouldn't harm them, Todd had said. And as they slowly creep closer they can see that the wraith spoke the truth. The wraith drone soldiers look thin and dried out, but not in the way someone fed upon looks. They look…

"Did they starve to death?" Rodney asks, voice somewhere between curiosity, disgust, and maybe a little pity.

"They are starving, yes," Todd says, voice too flat. "But they are not dead yet."

Rodney steps back immediately. "You mean, they…"

There is a sound that reminds John of the day he tried to put on his old leather jacket after being discharged from the air force. The stiffened leather had creaked as he put his arm through the sleeve, dried out as it was from hanging in one and the same spot for years. Yet this time it's the bare, reed thin arm of the wraith warrior that makes this sound as it is lifted into a salute.

"Oh my god…" McKay breathes, stepping back yet another step while the second warrior responds in kind, moving an arm that definitely shouldn't be able to move to present his weapon, a dark, long spear rather than a here utterly useless stun weapon.

Nothing else about the creatures moves. They are once again still, grim mummies and John suddenly feels glad that a mask cover their faces.

"How long have they been here?" he asks.

"Ever since I stationed them here." Todd has yet to look away from the drones. And John knows he won't until they have done something about them. "Though it seems the maintenance team hasn't come for a while now. And still my warriors remained, yet I can not properly reward them for their loyalty." Shackled hands are clenched into fists. The drones do not drop their salute.

"We cannot take them with us." John doesn't know why he feels the need to state the obvious truth, neither does he know why that truth feels so bitter. "We cannot feed them."

"But you can release them." Todd states it like it will happen. And John knows what he is talking about. So while Ford starts saying that they can't let wraith run free, he steps forwards and puts a bullet right through the first drone's head. Clean and quick. John moves quickly to dispatch the second drone, hoping that if it was capable of thinking about what just happened, he didn't give it much time to do so. It drops next to its comrade, the bullethole in its skull bleeding out what life it had left.

Unlike the humans, Todd hadn't flinched at the sudden sound of guns, nor at watching the death of the drone soldiers. The wraith just nods his grim thanks to John, then turns to walk on.

"The naquadah is this way," is his only remark.

"How long ago did you station them here?" John asks after a few silent steps across the black ground. Todd has yet to reveal how long he can go without feeding. And John can't get the picture of that last salute out of his head.

"I do not know. At one point I stopped counting my prison years."

" _That_ long, huh." He glances at the stone-faced wraith from the corners of his eyes. "Why didn't they leave their post when you didn't come back after such a long time and your... maintenance crew failed to show up?"

Todd stops and looks back. For a moment John expects an actual answer and awaits to see if wraith can be as sentimental as humans after all. But all Todd says is: "Why is Dr. McKay not following us?" And for some reason it bothers John, but he lets it be. He is no stranger to keeping things to one's self.

Turning around himself, John yells "What's taking you so long?!"

"I want to know why there are- were guards! Wraith are so used to being the kings of this galaxy, they barely ever bother with guarding things. So what could be important enough to place guards here?" McKay answers. John mentally kicks himself. He was so busy asking about the guards, he didn't think about what they might be guarding.

"Todd, what were the guards for?"

"They were left to guard old habits that never died," the wraith said, a bitter resonance in his voice.

"And which old habits might that be?" John insists on a less cryptic answer.

"Had we not been able to keep it, this planet would have been destroyed, like the others. The lantean ship beneath the cruiser holds the mechanism built to blow all of this into smithereens and render all naquadah here useless. We left guards to make sure the lanteans would not be able to incapacitate it. And when the lanteans fell we kept it up so no enemy alliance could come and destroy our resources here. A useless move, as I see now. This is an easy target; that the drones were left unattended means my fleet was destroyed at some point and cannot defend any territory any longer. Yet there is no other alliance occupying this planet, so either they get by just fine without it or they simply do not know of it."

There is a certain sharpness in Todd's gaze, a quick analytical intelligence that runs scenario after scenario before the mind's eye and calculates odds with remarkable speed. It is hidden away quickly when the wraith stops speaking and just looks at him, a silent question if this is answer enough. John resolves to never underestimate the alien.

"So there is a planet-destroyer in there?!" asks McKay, who's made his way over to them to get an answer to his earlier question.

"Essentially, yes." Todd says, sounding ever-so-slightly smug.

"We need to take a look at that!" McKay's eyes are practically glowing with excitement, the curious scientist in the man acting like a child at Christmas.

"I would advise you to leave it alone. It is a delicate machine, easy to set off by nature and linked to many traps." the warning sounds even more eerie when spoken with that inhuman, layered voice.

"You could lead us." McKay tells the wraith.

"You assume I know how to do that."

"You don't?"

"If I'm not mistaken there is only one wraith left who knows how to safely disarm this construction, now that its guards are dead."

"I'm pretty sure I can figure it out..." McKay says, already turning to walk back to the entrance into the ship wreck.

"Wait, Dr. McKay," Ford intervenes. "Our mission and priority is to get naquadah. Maybe we can come back here later for the planet destroyer, with some more back up and some of the other scientists, too. But for now we should do what we came to do."

"I agree," says Teyla, who is probably thinking of the athosians and their fear of the flickering lights that remind of the Darkness. "Wraith technology is nothing to mess with, they build evil devices."

"Fine," McKay grumbles. "Lead the way!"

Todd hisses at Rodney's command and shooing hand movements, but starts walking as the scientist decides to maybe not antagonize the wraith any further for today and quickly drops his hands to his sides.

After pulling themselves up and pulling McKay after them, they climb the wing of the cruiser and walk across it, leaving the che-rah behind for now. The reptiles have curled up half-buried in the black sand, happily baking in the heat and resting after the long ride. John is still smiling benignly at the picture of these great, fearsome animals acting so much like spoiled house cats.

They cross the hull of the cruiser, which seems oddly skeletal, like a long dead beast, and the view is fantastic. John can't believe that the cruiser is actually not the biggest ship there is when he feels so small standing on top of it. He looks across the expanse of sun-bleached ship hull and wonders how it must be like to stand on a hive ship. And how can those colossi be so alive as they felt in the memory Todd had shared with him, anyway? It seems unbelievable. Dinosaurs suddenly appear very pathetic and small to John.

Then, they reach the other wing. This one is a lot less intact, but following Todd's self-assured steps they manage to climb it to where it meets the side of a mountain. Crossing from the splayed fracture of the bone-like wing to the small stone plateau at the mountain side is tricky, but they manage. At last, they enter a cave, which, at second glance, turns out to be a mine, driven into the stone rather roughly.

Finding the naquadah is terribly anticlimactic.

Stackhouse and a pick-axe can break a few clumps of ore out of the cave wall after only half an hour of searching for anything left in the already barren stone, and McKay happily declares it as enough. They find some extra and take that, too, then leave the way they came.

"Of what worth is this planet to the wraith anyway?" John asks after they survived a second wave of wind and sand rolling over them. It doesn't seem to be the naquadah, they have yet to find wraith tech using it as an energy source.

Todd peers at him over his shoulder for a while, probably trying to gauge if John is worth the info. John looks back, raising an eyebrow at the wraith. The yellow eyes flicker down to the gun at his hip for barely a second. Then the wraith turns forward again and answers. And John knows that Todd is not scared of getting shot for not answering. Todd just appreciates the fact that he hasn't had a gun poking in his back for the whole ride back.

"The sand," the wraith says, swiping the same off his thighs as the che-rah rises from its crouched position. While John congratulates himself for not losing his balance this time, the wraith continues: "All living things require some sort of sustenance. A hive ship can live decades on sunlight alone, but it needs minerals, too."

"Kinda like a plant?" John muses.

"That would be the closest relatable life-form your kind knows of, I guess," Todd agrees.

"Interesting."

"Do not try to use that knowledge against my future hives, John Shepard," comes the low, warning growl.

"You seem to be very sure you'll be having that future..." John plays along.

A smirk over the wraith's shoulder, pointy teeth on display. "I spy with my little eye something that can fly..."

Apparently the wraith is back to speaking in riddles. John rolls his eyes, but it is half-hearted.

"Get the che-rah moving", he says, while Todd chuckles at him. "We'll talk about that future when we get there. For now we got some naquadah to deliver."

Because he doesn't want to think about things turning so bad that they will have to fight each other with all means possible, when right now he's having a better time than ever before.

John promises to himself to make this all work out and turn this galaxy into the peaceful home that earth never was.

Todd is still smirking, a knowing glint in his eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I didn't update last month. My excuses range from travelling to moving apartments to problems with the beta and more. But I'm not going to bore you with that...
> 
> This chapter has not been beta-edited, all typos and grammar errors are mine and I'm sorry about them.

Todd goes through the motions but his mind is entirely elsewhere. He's learned to split his focus between mind and body long ago and the humans don't seem to notice that he's operating with barely as much grace as a drone warrior. They are happy to see that he walks when they tell him to, calls the che-rah when they tell him to and leads them back to the ship wrecks that rest eternally between black rocks and black sand, when they tell him to.

So he stands by and watches their futile attempts to get past the defense of the destruction mechanism and doesn't so much as blink when Sumner has lost four men and yells in his face to disable whatever has killed them or Todd will join the warrior drones that have been laid to the side and idly rot away.

The two still bodies don't bother Todd. The wraith have no attachment to the remains of their dead. If they bury them it's for practical reasons and without pomp or ceremony. Todd's not sure if it has always been like that, he has heard of grave chambers from way before the great war, but he sees no use in whining for old times. What they need is change towards the future, not the past.

While he thinks all that Sumner has turned to Sheppard, ordering him to make Todd cooperate. But it's not yet time to cooperate so Todd blends them out completely. He has more important things to do. Like finding his fleet.

Breathing in and releasing the air slowly his mind stretches further into space. Yet he can't find them. Todd frowns to himself. His ships and crews are not within reach. Maybe, had he had his full mind at his disposal rather than having to spare part of it to interact with the humans and the che-rah, he might have caught a metaphorical whiff of them. But he's already gone further than the first time they have been on this planet and if he distances himself any further from the here and now the che-rah will eat Sumner. Not that Todd cares, but if he lets the beasts do as they please Sheppard will shoot him rather than just continue waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention. Grudgingly, he pulls himself back together. He will try again later when he is safe and bored to death in Atlantis' brig.

He narrows his eyes at Sheppard. The glare of the sun here is stinging now that he is more aware of his body, but he ignores it as he did before.

"I told you, if I am right then there is only one wraith left who might disable the device," he repeats himself. Sheppard narrows his eyes in turn, though more from suspicion than the glare of the sun; The human brought dark glasses this time.

From the back an annoyed McKay chirps in: "Oh great, and the chances of finding that wraith and getting him to cooperate are probably practically zero."

Todd doesn't answer to that while Sheppard just huffs. Never taking his eyes off the wraith, who keeps his face carefully blank, Sheppard speaks to Sumner: "This is a futile mission."

And while Todd doesn't like Sumner much he approves of the fact that the man can at least admit defeat. The humans pack up their gear and get ready to leave. They probably would've packed up their corpses too, but apart from screams nothing of the marines has left the ship wreck again. So, unwilling to risk any further dead, they load up their equipment and themselves only, while Todd stands in the shade of the fanned out frill of the lead che-rah's neck, blinking as his eyes can finally relax from being constantly narrowed in the glaring light. He throws one last glance at the wrecks, unhappy with leaving the place unsupervised, but trusts in the still active defense and the fact that if no other wraith have already been here then none will come any time soon.

On the ride, Sheppard offers him his sunglasses. And keeps his gun pressed into Todd's back all the way to the gate. The wraith does not mind. He is aware that some steps forwards for him are steps backwards for others. Back on Atlantis he thanks Sheppard for the sunglasses when the cage door closes on him, but he does not explain himself.

Now that he doesn't have to focus on anything else, he takes the risk and reaches out as far as he dares, his mind flashing past stars and planets until it finds a hive. It orbits a planet with three planetary rings and he takes a moment to admire the view. But this is always a risk, always a walk on a very thin tightrope, and so he turns away. He can still look at the beauty of the universe when he is free, he needs to be patient until then or he will jeopardize everything. So he hones in on the hive.

His ghost walks the ship's corridors, careful, always careful. The mind network of the hive is an open book to him but just leafing through it would expose his presence and he can't risk that. Neither can he risk getting lost in it. Because all of his instincts scream at him, he is wraith, he needs a hive to remain sane and healthy. It's only natural to latch on to this web of minds. But that is a tempting mistake, one he cannot make. This isn't his hive, it is open to him because his mind can force its way in, not because they welcome him. And they won't welcome him if they notice him, he's not part of this ship's crew, he hasn't earned his place among them. He's a stranger and he will be treated as such.

So he carefully picks apart layer after layer rather than plunging through the structure of mind and thought that makes this crew. Only to find nothing of much use. The tendrils of his mind are carefully extracted from the hive's web and he turns to try and find another one. He feels a headache building, but the pressure between his eyes is as much annoying as it is welcome. It anchors him to his body, reminds him that he is still taking a risk going this far out, further than any other wraith can.

This is where the real danger begins. He can feel The Others there, those presences that aren't wraith or anything else that he knows of. What he _does_ know is that they're not friendly in regards to himself. They had been as much confused by his presence as he had been by theirs, and before he could take a good enough look to find out what he was facing they had deemed him danger for no reason that he can grasp. He made the mistake of approaching them once and they had leaped at him, raging beings of spirit and mind, ready to tear his ghost apart. Maybe there is such a thing as the Gods some of the humans believe in, and they are scared of him who dares trying to rival their power. Maybe the universe itself does not approve of him straying further from his body than is natural for even a wraith. What is sure is that he needs to keep away from them or risk losing his sanity. And so he keeps his metaphorical head low, his physical body ducking in subconscious response.

The threads between his mind and body are stretched to the maximum and will start to fray if he pulls on them much more. But he wants to know, he's a curious creature, has always been. He needs to understand his surroundings. He needs to make sure his gift of sight isn't wasted. Because the wraith are only never ending if this wraith can change their course.

Todd mentally laughs at the arrogance of this thought, yet he knows it is true.

Hands grab his shoulders and shake him. For one horrible second he fears the connection between his mind and body will rip apart, but then he slams down on it with all he has and pulls himself back together. Angrily, he returns enough to his physical location to snarl at the human who dared touching him. The man backs off. Todd knows they probably wouldn't have touched him had he just told them how dangerous that could be in certain situations, but he had counted on them not wanting to come into his cell anyway. Unfortunately for him, Sheppard once again is an unpredictable exception. Grudgingly, he spares enough of his attention to see what the man wants now.

To his confusion, Sheppard's first question is: "Are you all right? You're acting even more weird and spaced out than usual."

He focuses on Sheppard past the picture of a planet orbited by four moons and a cruiser. "It didn't look back," he offers. And that's all Sheppard needs to know for now. He looks back at the cruiser.

"What didn't look back?" Sheppard asks, cocking his head to the side as he tries to make sense of Todd.

"The universe. Stare too deeply into the universe and it will look right back at you. Then you're lost," he says, keeping his annoyance down. Too strong emotions will reveal his presence to the cruiser's crew.

"Great, so you're not entirely here," Sheppard rolls his eyes. Todd isn't quite sure if the man finally truly understood the current situation or if he's talking about his supposed craziness. It doesn't matter, he can't leave the cruiser alone right now. The ship's commander is on an errand for his queen, sent out to secure feeding grounds, and maybe they have been to other feeding grounds before, maybe those of his crew...

"Sumner is quite pissed at you. It wasn't your idea to go back and take another look at the planet-destroyer and lose four men in the process," there's a pause and Todd perceives the anger rolling off Sheppard before he reigns it back in, "but the fact that you just stood there doing nothing doesn't help much and so he still blames you. And he's working on getting Weir to allow him to tickle some information out of you. And I don't mean the funny kind of tickling. So how about you offer something on your own?"

Todd contemplates that. He has many things to offer but timing is crucial. What needs to be offered now? Where else did the cruiser go? Sheppard is tapping his foot. The commander has gate addresses. Todd blinks and tries to get his focus in order.

"How about that bug planet address? You said you'd tell me where we can get an iratus bug to experiment on once I got another friend. Well, I got Teyla on the team." Sheppard crosses his arms in front of his chest as he waits for Todd's reaction. Todd thinks about it. He guesses it's fine now. So he gives Sheppard the address.

The cruiser has been to a planet that belongs to his fleet. Or rather belonged? He sets on finding out.

* * *

John Sheppard decides that Todd the wraith was right; He hates bugs. What he currently hates even more, though, is said wraith.

The bastard could've mentioned that there were wraith at this planet, John is pretty sure that Todd knows! It doesn't matter that they were sleeping and that his people could've just caught a bug and sneaked away without ever being noticed. It doesn't matter that it was Sumner himself who had insisted on entering the wraith base there. No, this was all Todd's fault. Because the damn wraith seems to know everything, but he didn't know _this_? Not very likely. His suspicion that Todd is keeping some things secret has only risen.

And yet here they are. Sumner is dead, an iratus bug has lodged itself onto John's neck, and the damn jumper is stuck in the stargate while underneath them Wraith awake.

And just when he had started to really like the Pegasus Galaxy.

He curses to himself as Teyla and Ford talk to Beckett on the radio. Apparently no one's got a clue about how to get rid of the bug and they can't ask Todd. The wraith has spaced out again and John can understand that no one else but him feels like just walking into that cell to give the live sucking alien a good shake.

It doesn't help that he was right about Todd knowing of the wraith here, either. Just when he's recuperating from the extremely painful experience of the bug's reaction to saltwater does Weir radio, saying that apparently Todd has woken from his stupor and told the guard to tell Sheppard to get back to Atlantis immediately, the planet wasn't save. To John, that is a rather lame attempt to pull his head out of the sling.

"Get his damn ass to the radio so he can tell us how to get the damn bug off me!" he snaps between shallow intakes of breath.

"I would tell you how to do that, if there was a way."

Apparently the people on Atlantis had been thinking ahead. The rough voice of the wraith echoes over the intercom and grates on Sheppard's nerves.

"A real helpful wraith you are, you're related to that thing, you should know _something_!" he hisses past the pain.

"Wraith have a mind, they can choose to stop. This bug operates on instinct alone and that instinct tells it not to let go until its prey is dead."

Hearing his death sentence spoken in such a calm, alien voice feels terribly surreal. Like any moment he's going to wake up from a nightmare.

But that's it! Waking up...

"Get the defibrillator!" he tells Teyla.

"But that's gonna kill you!" McKay says, half his mind still busy with the jumper's circuits.

"That's precisely the plan!" John is not as sure about this as he makes himself sound. He knows this is the only chance he has but that still doesn't mean he likes the idea of being temporally dead yet again.

But there's the memory on how he survived the last time and suddenly all fear is gone. He doesn't like the idea. He doesn't want another life that isn't his. But those men from area 51 are already lost, and if it helps his friends, John is going to take whatever he can."If you can't revive me once that bug comes off throw me in the gate. And when we get the jumper through and the medics on Atlantis don't manage to save me, we still got Todd, right Todd?"

"My resources aren't endless..." the wraith drawls. "But if you won't survive just as all the other Sheppards did, then I am happy to lend a helping hand."

John snorts at the bad joke. Then his eyes widen. "You knew this would happen, too?!"

"It shouldn't have, not in this reality..." Todd sounds mildly contrite.

John is still pissed. "We're so going to have a talk if I survive this..."

There is no answer from Todd though, only Beckett who instructs them on how to proceed. Then, John's world goes black.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's back... Took me a while to get this chapter done, life had it out for me these past few months. But I will finish this story, I swear!
> 
> A big Thank you! to Armand, who picked out all the grammar and spelling errors that I keep overlooking.

John wakes in the infirmary. He hates waking up in the infirmary. Groggily, he considers sitting up, intending on sneaking out of here before they can condemn him to stay on bed rest for a week or something. Sure, he doesn't feel all that perfect, but to him, a night of rest in his own bed is still all he needs.

"He's awake."

John curses under his breath. Great, of course the wraith that pissed him off already has to rat him out now.

"Thank you," Carson tells the wraith and John doesn't need to turn his head to know the doctor is coming over. "I knew you'd try to sneak off. Luckily for me, Todd has agreed to tell me when you try to, so I could continue focusing on my work," the Scotsman happily continues.

John turns around after all, glowering at the wraith chained to another infirmary bed. Todd just shrugs, as if to say "hey, I needed a break from all of his prodding". It's disturbingly human. Even more disturbing is that John has the childish urge to answer with a gesture that tells Todd "you're dead!", like he did back then when his brother would tell their parents of something John did in order to get away with his own mischief. The wraith only grins broader.

"You see," Beckett continues, either oblivious to, or studiously ignoring their exchange, "I took apart what was left of the Iratus bug after Rodney blew out the gate ship's back hatch-"

"Is Rodney alright?" Suddenly the last moments on and above the bug planet rush back to John and he looks around the infirmary, trying to make out the astrophysicist and the rest of the jumper's crew. But Rodney isn't there, neither are the others.

"Yes, they are all well. We closed the gate's shield as soon as the gate ship was through, and the wraith darts that were hanging around to follow it were stopped. They didn't find out where we are," Beckett says, looking over the data of the machine monitoring John. "You're fine, too. Some rest and you should get back on your feet soon." He smiles.

"Did I... need him?" John asks, jabbing a thumb in Todd's general direction. He doesn't want to ask the wraith himself, doesn't want to see the smug face telling him that he owes Todd even more.

"No, he's still up here because I was testing a theory. The bug you brought has an acid vesica-, bladder", he adds upon John's questioning expression, "inside of its body. It's probably a last defense mechanism in case something did actually try to eat it," Beckett talks on, allowing John to hide his relief behind a face of disgust at the thought of eating an Iratus bug.

"My guess is its purpose is to make the bug very unenjoyable for, or kill, the predator trying to eat it, which will prevent other bugs from falling victim to that predator. The acid produced in this case is very similar to the one in Todd's stomach. It seems the wraith body has conformed to more bug features than just the way of feeding." The doctor walks back in Todd's direction and the two marines who politely act like they're not listening in step out of his way, allowing him to stare at the scans of Todd's torso and the bug.

"So if we shoot them in the stomach, will they just dissolve from the inside out?" John asks, not expecting a positive answer but still somewhat hoping for it.

"No, both the wraith and the bug are immune to the acid," Beckett tells him while Todd huffs a laugh.

"Hey, I'm asking because I'd rather like watching you dissolve! Why the hell did you not tell us there is a wraith base on that planet?!" John snaps at the wraith.

Todd drops his grin. "Not a base. A ship. And had I known in the beginning that the hive was still there, I would have told you."

"That thing was a hive?!"

"A landed one, yes. Did you think we would just let them float around the universe when we're asleep?" Todd seems equally annoyed and amused by the idea.

John bristles. The finger that has pulled the trigger on Sumner still burns more than the spot on his neck where the bug had locked its jaws in. He wants to yell at Todd, face to face, and blame him because most of this mess would've been avoidable had Todd just laid his cards open, but that's not going to happen in the infirmary.

"I'm taking him back to the brig," he says, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Captain Sheppard!" Carson protests, but John waves him off.

"You said I was fine, and I promise I'll take a nap after giving him a piece of my mind." Glaring at Todd, he commands a P90 from one of the marines. "You know the drill."

Once released from the bed frame, Todd obediently walks in front of him. John is pretty sure he'll be dressed down for this later, but it's worth it. If he can't trust Todd even half as far as the short distance he could actually throw the wraith, and if he is forced to assume that Todd's agenda isn't positive after all, then he needs to install the old system of punishing and rewarding their prisoner for the results of his actions until those actions turn satisfying in their results again.

They reach the cell and Atlantis obediently opens the door as John approaches. He stops to close the door after the wraith has gone in, but Todd stops right in the doorway. John is about to tell him to continue moving, when he hears a hissing sound. And it's not Todd. Peering around the alien he sees Rodney's cat, hissing at the wraith from where it had been curled up on the bench in the cell.

"What is that?" Todd asks, cocking his head to the side.

"Rodney's cat. I told you about him."

"Why would I want to meet this animal?" It seems Todd recalls the short conversation.

John shrugs. "I wanted to know who'd hiss louder."

"Hm." The wraith starts walking again, the cat keeps sitting on the bench, still hissing. Then, the wraith hisses right back at it. John grins, for the moment forgetting their troubles in his childish glee, as the cat scurries to the side, making way for the apex predator.

He unlocks Todd's cuffs and makes to leave the cell and activate the force field when he realizes that the cat is still there. Rubbing itself against Todd's ankles and meowing loudly. He frowns. What now? Sighing, he has Atlantis lock the door to keep Todd in while he makes to grab the cat to get it out of here. To his surprise, Todd is faster. For a moment the cat is just dangling from the wraith's hand, grabbed by the scruff of the neck as Todd inspects it, then the wraith allows it to sit on his arms properly.

And John is left to stare at the picture of a cat purring loudly as a wraith scratches it behind the ears with sharp nails. He shakes his head. At least, his anger has simmered down somewhat and he can think clearly again.

"So, why didn't you tell us about the hive on that planet?" he asks.

"There are many realities at once. All of them are linked to each other in certain ways, tethered together so they won't fall apart, as they would on their own. The closer two realities are to each other, the thinner their walls and the more fixed points in time they share. As it is, I did not think that Colonel Sumner's death on this ship would be such a fix point." Todd gently sets McKay's cat down beside him, turning his full attention to John.

"So you _did_ know this would happen..." And John's anger is back.

"No. I know that it _has_ happened. To the other Sumners. But I did not think it would happen in our reality as well. Usually, when your people enter this galaxy for the first time, all wraith are still asleep, hibernating as we do regularly. The hive ship on which Colonel Sumner dies is the first to wake, the Queen you kill is the first gear that sets all of this into motion. That is the path of history which this bundle of realities usually follows. But there are many exceptions to the story in our reality. You yourself are the biggest one. Certain things happen early or don't happen at all. Here, the wraith were already awake before you came into the picture. Which means this ship should have already been awake as well. But they weren't. And the question is, why? Why did the hive of a primary queen not rise already?"

Todd starts pacing. Up and down the cell in front of John, tattered coat seams swishing around his ankles. "There is only one scenario I can imagine. Someone, the one who woke the wraith because you weren't there to wake them, woke another primary Queen first. And she wanted power for herself and her clan, so she left the more powerful queen asleep. This way she does not have to openly fight her opponent until her ship had gained an advantage. But who woke the ship? And are they the reason why I cannot reach my fleet?"

John watches the wraith walk back and forth. It is obvious that Todd wants to go out and find answers. He would, too, if he didn't know why things didn't go as expected and, more importantly, if his people were out of reach and their fate unknown.

"The first time we met you told me you know the future," he says, still unwilling to let go of the chance to blame Todd for Sumner's death. Just because he still insists to himself that putting a bullet in him was what Sumner wanted him to do doesn't mean he likes to shoulder it.

"An unfortunate choice of word," Todd admits. "I do not so much know the future as I know the past of our other versions. What lies behind them lies ahead of us and I make use of their mistakes to do better. Sometimes I see things that do not fit in the line, those might be true visions, but even then, I do not know the future. No one knows the future for sure, John Sheppard. Because no matter what we see, it is all influenced by how we interpret it. Things are rarely what you think they are. You will learn that, too." The wraith bends down and once more picks up the cat that has yet to leave him alone. He holds the animal out for John to take. "You will learn that many things in the future are a lot like this cat."

And so John suddenly just stands there, with McKay's unhappy cat in his arms, and stares at the wraith, trying to process the alien's strangeness while Todd turns and sits down on the bench.

"I will try to find out what else might not be as it should," Todd says, and then his eyes turn vacant, staring past John and Atlantis.

Shifting the cat's weight on one arm, John uses the other to wave a hand in Todd's face but receives no reaction. Up close, the alien is fascinating. John is pretty sure that barely any human has come this close to a living wraith without ending up as its dinner. The greenish skin doesn't look so oily anymore now, just very smooth, reflecting the light like dull glass rather than fluid. There truly are no hairs on the brow, but the sharp ridge in the face contour makes it look less weird than a hairless brow on a human. Todd's beard and hair look like they could be quite silky, given some care. The slits to the left and right of the nose are the only thing moving, twitching ever so slightly, and John wonders what all they can detect.

But it's not like he will get any more answers today. Todd is hopelessly spaced out and for now, John doesn't have the patience to deal with that anymore. He rolls his eyes and walks out of the cell. Atlantis opens and closes the door for him and with a nod to the guards, he goes to bring McKay his cat.

"Thank you, I searched Schrödinger everywhere!" the scientist says, and John is left to wonder if Todd knew the cat's name and what it implies. And then he wonders what Todd implied if Todd knows the implications of Schrödinger's cat.

He can feel a headache building.

Despite his original plan to take a nap he ends up sitting on one of the city's more remote balconies, gazing out at the sky as it becomes dark and the stars begin to show. Watching the little dots of light reflect in the calm ocean water, John reflects on how this day has left him reeling. Until now, Pegasus has been so exciting and wonderful, a perfect new start. He now has a purpose, and the endless void in front of him has become a somewhat clear road. All thanks to Todd. But just now Todd has taken that assurance away again, the road is a lot foggier than before and full of boxes holding cats that might be either dead or alive. And John can't understand how the wraith manages to still be so sure in his steps.

There's the sound of beer bottles being set down on the ground and John looks up to find McKay standing there. The scientist looks like he finds the situation as awkward as John, and sheepishly plucks at the cuff of his jacket.

"I just figured you might want some company, the first operation-gone-bad is always the hardest on people and I would have liked someone to talk to back then, and since I dragged you into that mess and all..." the Canadian stops his fast and nervous babbling when John raises an eyebrow. "But I can go away if you don't want company..." he then adds.

"You brought beer, I guess that means you can stay," John says with a grin that isn't as forced as he thought it would be.

McKay sits and they take a swig from their bottles. John can feel embarrassed silence settling in again. He usually isn't one to pry, but he does wish for a distraction, and it's not like McKay has to answer him. So he starts talking. Or, rather, asking.

"So what was your first operation-gone-bad here?"

"Genii," McKay grates out the word. It rings with a tone that probably makes everyone else on the base go "Ah." and then keep their silence about the evil that all have seen and can all understand. John, though, can only raise his brows, asking for further explanation.

"It all went so well at first. We had finally found Atlantis, and even though she wouldn't respond to us, people out here did. They were friendly, warned us about the wraith, and offered to guide us in the ways of this galaxy. Should've known they were only after the advantage our weapons would bring against the wraith. But we were blinded by our success.

"The Genii are quite advanced, compared to other folks out here. They have come so far as to try and use nuclear weapons. And I-... I helped them with their research. I mean... the wraith are like cockroaches. They survive things they shouldn't. A proper nuke seemed necessary to stop them. And the Genii will find out how to build a proper nuke anyway, they already tested a prototype on a hive ship. I thought there was nothing bad in helping them develop it a little faster, not to mention they had no clue or didn't care about their scientists being irradiated." McKay huffs a self-deprecating laugh.

"In the end, the fact that I insisted on them stocking up on radiation protection before I set a foot in there was probably my best decision back then. Anyway, I was supposed to bring a couple Genii to the labs we set up on Atlantis, to show them how proper equipment looks. They weren't the scientists I usually worked with, which should have already made me suspicious. But I wasn't. I believed their story about those people being engineers that should study the making of our equipment to produce the same for the Genii.

"They stayed the night. And they opened the gate for their reinforcements that night. Quiet and quick. Aiming for the leading staff first. Sam- " and McKay swallows hard, " Sam had Sumner's post back then. The Genii didn't know she was as smart as I am, maybe even smarter. For them, she was just the head of Atlantis' military forces, just some soldier. And so, they barged into our quarters and instead of making use of her brilliant mind, they planted a bullet in it. Right there, without questions. The last I saw of her was her brain on the wall like a Rorschach painting"

A sharp intake of breath and a white-knuckled grip on the beer bottle are the only signs of turmoil John can see. But he knows there's a hurricane of sadness and rage inside McKay, he knows it as surely as his friend bled out in the desert of Afghanistan.

"I don't remember much after that, they say I probably went into shock or was traumatized. But what I do remember is envying the wraith. At that moment all I wanted was to suck the life out of all these Genii and make them suffer. But I couldn't. And so... I sicked the one on them who could."

John's eyes widen "You-..."

"Todd didn't get out on his own. Our deal was his freedom for the death of the Genii. It's why he can't stand me. Once he brought Kolya down, I stunned him from behind. They might have killed my wife, but in the end the Genii are humans, too. Twisted and mean but with goals, hopes, and dreams. Probably families. They did their jobs as much as our soldiers do theirs. Kolya was the one responsible for my wife's death. He might have been one of the few people who actually deserved an angry wraith going after him like a demon out for a promised soul. But no one else. I don't know if that was weak or strong. I don't know if I should have changed my mind before the wraith plowed through half of the Genii already. I just know that watching your arch enemy being skinned alive isn't as satisfying as it sounds"

Silence settles. John breathes in measured breaths while he digests what he just heard. He enjoys how McKay next to him eventually develops a twitching eyebrow, realizing he just told John something that could get him into a lot of trouble, even if it saved Atlantis. In the end, John takes another drink of his beer, then says: "Well, you didn't rat me out for taking that wraith's money back in Vegas. Guess we're quit if I don't blow the whistle on you for sicking Todd on the Genii. Just don't let him find out it could get you in trouble, he would probably make some use of that knowledge."

McKay breathes in relief. "Thanks," he says.

John just grins and raises his bottle. They toast and drink another swig. John notices a cat hair on his sleeve. He flicks it away. He frowns.

"You said the Genii tested a nuke prototype on a hive ship..."

"Yeah," McKay says, a lot more relaxed now. "The Wraith apparently hibernate every once in a century. The Genii managed to get that bomb on a landed, sleeping hive. I wish I had seen that, I mean, those things a gigantic, can you imagine one on the ground? Even bigger than that cruiser on the sand planet? And the explosion, I wonder how it would run through the ship, if it blows apart in smithereens or collapses-"

"Or survives and wakes."

McKay stares at John, confused, but John is already rising to his feet, heading for the brig.

One of Schrödinger's boxes has been opened. He wonders if Todd can tell if the cat got away alive and freed the other cats.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, another chapter ^^
> 
> A big Thank you! to Armand, for looking it over.

Preparing himself for an instinctual defense reaction, John slowly raises his hands to place them on the wraith's shoulders, intending to give him a good shake. The guards aren't any happier about his course of action than they were the first time he did this, but he keeps ignoring the grim faces behind the barrels of the P90 that are aimed at Todd through the planks that frame the wraith's cell.

His hands touch worn leather, but before he can truly shake the wraith, Todd's head snaps up and the yellow eyes hone in on him like an ATR system. And yet Todd seems to be looking as much at John as he is looking right through him.

"A spark will always draw a moth's attention, when will the moth decide to come too close and be burned? The light is pulsing in the dark but, for now, they keep circling. Space is wide and cold. The moth does not mind. Sleeping. Waiting. A cocoon is a safe place for one but a deathbed for others. One day you will have to decide if you go to sleep, John Sheppard. But not now," the wraith says. "Not now."

"Yeah, now I'd like to have your full attention," John tells him. He stores the wraith's words in the back of his mind, but he can't see any sense in them right now. Schrödinger's hive ship is at the forefront of his mind and he wants to know if the threat of wraith out there has become bigger or not. Todd just blinks at him, silently waiting for John to continue.

"You said only part of the hives were awake until recently, but it should have been all of them. What if I told you the Genii tried out a nuclear bomb on a hibernating hive ship. Could that have woken only a fraction of the wraith?"

Todd closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly. When he opens his eyes again the wide blown slit pupils are back to their normal size and the shrewd glint in the wraith's gaze is back, immediately reminding John that, once you have his full attention, Todd is not to be underestimated.

"On which planet did they find the hive and attempted to destroy it?"

Hearing the wraith's question, John turns to throw a questioning look at McKay, who had followed him down here, curious and confused. Though by now the Canadian has caught on to what John's sudden dash to the brig is about.

"I think we stored that info somewhere." He shrugs.

"Well, then let's go look it up," John says, deactivating the force field and motioning for someone to pass him Todd's restraints. "Maybe if we can find out which wraith are where, and if they are currently fighting among themselves, we can find an advantage to use in the future."

Up in the labs, they bend over McKay's shoulder to peer at his monitor. The scientist is decidedly uncomfortable with Todd this close in his personal space but tries not to show it, concentrating on the info on his screen. Todd is focusing on the screen as well, for once not trying to bait McKay.

"There," McKay says, pointing at a gate address. "We even have a few pictures of the place, the Genii documented the blast crater." He calls up the scans of a few sepia photographs. John squints his eyes at the noisy picture. Todd next to him laughs.

"What is it?" John asks while McKay flinches at the rattling sound.

"That is no blast crater. That is the hollow in which the hive rested. The ship has lifted off," the wraith tells them with glee.

"Seems like the Genii didn't stay around to watch the actual explosion," John says. "Was it damaged at all?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Todd cocks his head to the side as he analyzes the landscape on the pictures. "Raising a hive ship is a difficult task in the best conditions. Had it been damaged they would have either remained grounded or done a lot more damage to the surroundings of the hollow while lifting off. I am guessing they found the Genii's bomb before it could detonate and decided remaining there was unsafe. Leaving the planet would be much more favorable, especially if the ruling Primary was still asleep and could not hinder the plans of this ship's queen." He frowns, but does not speak further.

"What?" John asks, frowning as well. "What are you not saying?"

"One hive ship made it to earth. It carried the one who killed you in the desert." John feels a little sick at the casual mentioning of his demise. He still doesn't like to remember the price for every beat his heart has made ever since that fateful day. Todd throws him a glance that says he knows what John is thinking but continues without commenting on it.

"I am suspecting that hive was of the same alliance as the one which rested on this planet." There's a soft clink from his chains when he attempts to point at the pictures on the screen. "They woke, gained information, and made plans to keep earth to themselves if this information could be confirmed. Though they underestimated your planet, sending only one ship as an advance party. The ship didn't come back, they have no idea if the hyperdrive couldn't take the long journey or if you destroyed it. All they know is that the next ship they send has to be a lot stronger."

"Can you find out if your theory is true? If they have allies out there and if they have earth's coordinates?!" Rodney blurts in panic. "They could be planning another invasion as we speak!"

"Captain Shepard!" The lot of them turned around to see Dr. Weir coming up to them, Major Ford on her heels. She looks quite angry to John.

"What is the wraith doing up here?!" she asks, glaring at them in her stern manner.

"He's providing some intel on a problem we just noticed," John answers her calmly, hoping to maybe calm her, too.

"And it did not occur to you to ask me for permission to move him here, or ask Major Ford, who is currently not only your CO but also the highest ranked officer in Atlantis?!"

"Ahhh…." It didn't. John scratches the back of his head. He has been a lone wolf in Vegas for too long, no longer used to asking permission. Being the negotiator between Todd and the Atlantis Expedition had left him with so much leeway regarding the wraith, he doesn't always remember that Todd is not just his responsibility. And while he doesn't mind following a good CO, following Ford is hard. He might be a good officer but he never put John in his place when John had overriden the younger man, falling back into Major Sheppard mode.

"I was thinking about recommending you to General O'Neill, for you to be promoted back to major, but maybe I need to change my mind!" Weir continues.

"I'm sorry, and it won't happen again," John says, looking her in the eyes. She knows he means it probably would, but he'll keep trying to remember he's not at the top of the food chain.

"Could you argue about the pecking order sometime later, we might just have wraith on our doorstep!" McKay interrupts.

"Why that?" Weir asks, turning away from John with a look that tells him he's off the hook for the moment, but only for the moment. John grimaces a smile and then tries an apologetic look for Ford. Ford looks thoughtful, then turns to McKay as well.

"Apparently the hive ship that found its way to earth might have had allies. The one that Sheppard tracked down in Nevada might have built his communication device to reach not just any wraith, but the rest of the alliance he belonged to. In that case, he might not have been trying to only broadcast the position, but mainly a warning for the others to come in numbers and well armed. His alliance could already have the position of earth and be planning a bigger scale attack," Rodney rambles on as he keeps typing commands into the PC, trying to see if their scanners can pick up anything like a hive ship fleet out in space.

"Can we prove this in any way?" Weir asks, frowning.

"I'm trying," McKay says.

"Todd?" John asks. "Any useful input?"

Todd just silently looks at him. The wraith seems thoughtful, probably running through a thousand scenarios in that strange mind of his.

"Right. What would be your incentive to keep the wraith from running over the earth?" John asks, rhetorically. Todd raises a hairless brow, waiting. Apparently, he actually wants to hear some suggestions from John. So Sheppard starts thinking.

"For one, what advantage would that bring? You'd have a feast to gorge on for a while, but in the aftermath of that Earth's economy and other systems will break down, causing famine and war and more that will decimate the population further. So, in the end, you will be left with a rock just as barren as all the other planets out there. But before that, you will fight among yourselves for the last scraps of that feast. So what advantage do you gain by invading earth? You live long, I'm sure the pleasures of a full buffet will be but a moment for you before the repercussions hit. The hives you lose to tame earth, the hives you lose fighting for dominance among each other… is that worth it? Certainly not in the long run. And you can't just go to sleep and wait for the earth to regain population because earth will not only rebuild in human numbers but in weaponry too. Let them live and they'll fight back, eliminate them and you have no food. Again, is that worth it? Isn't trying to find a solution with us so much better in the long run?" He rolls his eyes. "Not to mention Earth would owe you one for saving their asses. Earth owing a wraith, wouldn't that be fun?"

And Todd grins. "Truly, all Sheppards know how to talk to me."

He turns, pointing at the screen as well as he can with his hands bound. "This is where we'll find most of the information you need."

John waits for Ford's command to ready a Puddlejumper.

* * *

Once again, the planet Todd has led them to is uncomfortably warm. But, this time, it's not the relatively dry heat of a desert but the moist heat of the jungle, leaving them feeling as sticky as a bottle of glue that got into the hands of a three-year-old who liked squeezing his toys.

At least this time, Todd seems a little bothered as well. The wraith has opted to leave his coat in Atlantis' brig and is moving about in his pants and a black, sleeveless top only. It sticks to his body as much as Sheppard's shirt sticks to John's own body, though the bullet holes probably grant a better ventilation than the stiff fabric of John's air-force shirt. Still, Todd doesn't seem all that amused about their trip. Adding a cranky McKay, their little troop is definitely not a merry band.

And yet John's mood isn't as bad as it could be. He is distracted by watching how the people around him make their way through the thick vegetation of the place. He likes to think that he himself cuts his way through the plants somewhat skillfully, while Rodney alternates between using John's already freed path or hacking his own way into whatever direction currently seems interesting to him. Stackhouse and Markham bring up the rear, watching the groups' back and using John's path to move forward without needing to pay more attention to their steps than their surroundings. Todd and Teyla are in the front. Neither of them has a knife, they just weave through the plants in their way. Teyla moves like a huntsman well acquainted with nature, Todd like the silent ambush predator he is.

 

When Teyla and Todd stop, it is in front of something that looks like a big ball of roots. The mass of green and brownish, intertwined plants doesn't look all that natural.

"What is this?!" Rodney asks, staring at the clump of plants.

"My dart. Or at least what is left of it after it was blasted out of the sky," Todd amends after a short pause. "Though it has recovered well," he continues, stalking over to the vaguely dart shaped vegetation to inspect it. His hands are chained, as usual, but they had taken off the restraints on his feet once they had opened the back latch of the jumper and had been faced with the impracticable jungle path.

"Recovered?!" Rodney asks, while John finally begins to fully make out the small ship hidden in the greenery. It is almost fully cocooned in plants, but his pilot's eye can make out the parts of the slim machine very well. There is indeed one of the small jet-like fighters in there, because…

"They are organic. And just like you, they can take energy from other living things…" he concludes.

Todd inclines his head in acknowledgment. "Indeed, they can. Not as effectively as the wraith, but still, parking a broken dart where it can connect to a hive or a rich vegetation can greatly help with repairs. This one has been left to rest for many years, I would have to fix little to get it working again. But that is not what we came for." He awkwardly leans against the ship to compensate for his short reach and sticks his hand into the heap of green leaves and liana, pushing something own. John is ready to empty his clip into the wraith but restraints his trigger finger when the only thing happening is the plants sliding off the dart's canopy as the ship buzzes to life for a moment.

"There, you should be able to connect your data storage module and gain all the knowledge it has," Todd explains, as the canopy opens up, revealing the dart's cockpit.

"We couldn't extract anything from the darts we salvaged on earth," Rodney says, "but then barely anything was left of those. And of course, you just had to steal and crash the only dart I had put some hopes in..." Rodney continues to grumble as he climbs into the cockpit, fumbling with the machinery in there until he manages to connect an external hard drive to one of the consoles.

"Their pilots probably had the good sense to erase their data when they realized they would be downed," Todd surmises.

And that's when John feels a tiny little prick in his neck. His hand moves to his neck on its own accord, finding a tiny little dart with a red feather. He looks up, surprised. And while his vision goes black he sees McKay already slumped over the darts' console while Teyla stumbles and falls to the ground. A P90 somewhere behind John rattles off a few shots before going silent again. As his eyes close, he realizes that Todd is gone. Then, everything is quiet.


End file.
